THERURAL 

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SERIES 

BY  LH-BAILEY 


R  M 

WOODLOT 


YNEY 


AGRIC.  DEPT.   Main  L.'br*v* 


\ 


Ube  TRurai  Science  Series 

EDITED  BY  L.  H.  BAILEY 


THE   FAEM  WOODLOT 


Ube  TRural  Science  Series 


The  Soil.    King. 

The  Spraying  of  Plants.    Lodeman. 

Milk  and  Its  Products.  Wing.  Enlarged 
and  Revised, 

The  Fertility  of  the  Land.    Roberts. 

The  Principles  of  Fruit-Growing. 
Bailey. 

Bush-Fruits.    Card. 

Fertilizers.     Voorhees. 

The  Principles  of  Agriculture.  Bailey. 
15th  edition,  revised. 

Irrigation  and  Drainage.    King. 

The  Farmstead.    Roberts. 

Rural  Wealth  and  Welfare.  Fair- 
child. 

The  Principles  of  Vegetable-Garden- 
ing. Bailey. 

Farm  Poultry.  Watson.  Enlarged  and 
Revised. 

The  Feeding  of  Animals.    Jordan. 

The  Farmer's  Business  Handbook. 
Roberts. 

The  Diseases  of  Animals.    Mayo. 


The  Horse.    Roberts. 

How  to  Choose  a  Farm.    Hunt. 

Forage  Crops.     Voorhees. 

Bacteria  in  Relation  to  Country  Life. 
Lipman. 

The  Nursery-Book.     Bailey. 

Plant-Breeding.  Bailey.  4th  Edition, 
revised. 

The  Forcing-Book.    Bailey. 

The  Pruning-Book.     Bailey. 

Fruit-Growing  in  Arid  Regions.  Pad- 
dock and  Whipple. 

Rural  Hygiene.     Ogden. 

Dry- Farming.     Widtsoe. 

Law  for  the  American  Farmer.    Green. 

Farm  Boys  and  Girls.    McKeever. 

The  Training  and  Breaking  of  Horses. 
Harper. 

Sheep-Farming  in  North  America. 
Craig. 

Cooperation  in  Agriculture.    Powell. 

The  Farm  Woodlot.  Cheyney  and 
Wentling. 


FIG.  1.  —  The  Ohio  buckeye  (&sculus  glabrd). 


THE  FARM  WOODLOT 


A   HANDBOOK    OF   FOBESTBY   FOE,    THE 

FABMEB  AND  THE  STUDENT 

IN   AGRICULTURE 


BY 


E.   G.   CHEYNEY 

DIRECTOR    OF    THE    COLLEGE    OF    FORESTRY    OF    THE 
UNIVERSITY   OF   MINNESOTA 

AND 

J.   P.  WENTLING 

ASSOCIATE    PROFESSOR    OF    FORESTRY 
UNIVERSITY    OF    MINNESOTA 


gorfc 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 
1914 

All  rights  reserved 


COPYRIGHT,  1914, 
BY  THE  MACMILLAN   COMPANY. 

Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  June,  1914. 


J.  8.  Cushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


Uo 

THE   LATE 
DEAN   SAMUEL   B.   GKEEN 

TO   WHOSE    ENERGY   AND    FORESIGHT    THE    PRESENT 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  FORESTRY  IN  MINNESOTA 

IS    LARGELY   DUE,    THIS    BOOK    IS 

DEDICATED 


PREFACE 

IT  is  the  purpose  of  this  book  to  aid  the  farmer  in  the 
establishment,  care,  and  utilization  of  such  small  patches 
or  plantations  of  timber  a's  may  be  maintained  in  connec- 
tion with  the  farm.  The  actual  operations  and  the  infor- 
mation necessary  to  conduct  them  are  described  accurately, 
we  hope,  but  in  a  brief  and  popular  style.  The  history  and 
significance  of  the  forests  are  briefly  sketched  as  a  back- 
ground for  the  more  specific  data  which  apply  directly  to 
the  woodlot,  but  the  complicated  and  technical  problems 
which  are  encountered  only  in  the  management  of  large 
tracts  of  forest  have  been  carefully  avoided. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  volume  will  prove  of  value  to  the 
woodlot  owner  as  a  handbook  in  the  proper  management 
of  his  tree  crop,  and  as  a  textbook  for  the  agricultural 
student,  who  should  be  familiar  with  the  possibilities  of 
all  his  farm  lands. 

The  authors  are  under  obligation  to  the  United  States 
Forest  Service  for  plates  1,  2,  10,  11,  12,  14, 18,  24,  25,  27, 
29,  30,  33,  34,  36  to  54,  and  56  to  62  inclusive. 

E.    G.    CHEYNEY, 
J.    P.    WENTLING. 

UNIVERSITY  FARM,  ST.  PAUL,  MINN., 
May  1,  1914. 


vii 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

PAGES 

THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  THE  FOREST       .....  1-14 

Forest  economics,  2 —  the  classification  of  lands,  5  — 
the  prevailingly  unprofitable  farm  lands,  10  —  products 
of  the  woodlot,  12 

CHAPTER   II 
THE  PLACE  OF  THE  FOREST  IN  FARM  MANAGEMENT  .         .         15-28 

Capabilities  of  the  woodlot,  17  —  locating  the  wood- 
lot,  19  —  summary  of  previous  discussions,  21  —  the 
clearing  of  a  farm,  23 

CHAPTER   III 

THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  TREE 29-39 

Functions  of  different  parts,  29  —  life  history  of  the 
tree,  36 

CHAPTER   IV 

DENDROLOGY 40-90 

The  conifers,  42  —  the  pines,  43  —  the  larches,  46  — 
the  spruces,  47  —  firs,  49  —  hemlocks,  50  —  white  cedar, 
51  —  red  cedar,  52  —  the  broadleaf  trees,  52  —  maples, 
54  — ashes,  60  — oaks,  64  — chestnut,  71  — beech,  72  — 
elms,  73  —  poplars,  76  —  willows,  80  —  birches,  82  — 
hornbeams,  84— walnuts,  85— hickories,  87— locusts,  88 

ix 


Contents 


CHAPTER   V 

PRACTICAL  SYLVICULTURE  OR  REGENERATION  OF  WOODLOTS 
Natural  regeneration,  91  —  selection  of  system,  92  — 
strip  system,  94  —  group  system,  96  —  coppice  system, 
96  —  direct  seeding,  98  —  seeding  and  planting,  103  — 
collecting  and  storing  seeds,  107  —  the  farm  nursery, 
112 — growing  coniferous  seedlings,  112 — growing  broad- 
leaf  seedlings,  119  —  spring  operations,  123  —  field  plant- 
ing of  nursery  stock,  126  —  treatment  after  planting,  129 
—  woodlot  plantations  in  mixture,  130 


PAGES 

91-133 


u        CHAPTER  VI 
PRACTICAL  SYLVICULTURE  —  WORK  IN  THE  WOODLOT 

Time  of  thinning,  143  — kind  of  thinning,  146  — re- 
sults of  thinnings,  149 


134-152 


CHAPTER   VII 

FOREST  PROTECTION 

Fire,  153  —  grazing,  160  —  mismanagement,  165  — 
trespass,  166  —  windfall,  167  —  sunscald,  168  —  insects, 
168  —  gypsy  moth,  170  —  brown-tail  moth,  171  —  pine- 
destroying  beetle,  174  —  spruce-destroying  beetle,  175  — 
elm-leaf  beetle,  177  —  bronze  birch  borer,  178  —  forest 
tent  caterpillar,  179  —  fall  web-worm,  180  —  the  locust 
borer,  181 


153-182 


CHAPTER  VIII 
FOREST  MENSURATION    ........ 

The  unit  of  measurement,  183  —  allowance  for  defects 
in  scaling,  187  —  cord  wood,  192  —  the  height  of  a  tree, 
194  —  valuation  survey,  196  —  stem  analyses,  199  — 
cruising  methods,  200 


183-205 


Contents 


XI 


CHAPTER  IX 

FOREST  UTILIZATION 

For  construction  timbers,  207  —  fence  posts  and  rails, 
208  —  railroad  ties,  209  —  implement  parts,  210  —  fire- 
wood, 211  —  logging,  213  —  felling,  213  —  dividing  the 
logs,  215  —  skidding,  216  — hauling,  218  — the  chief 
uses  of  our  common  woods,  219 


206-224 


CHAPTER   X 
BY-PRODUCTS  OF  THE  NORTHERN  WOODLOT          .         .         .     225-237 

Maple  sirup  and  sugar,  225  —  the  sugar  maple,  226  — 
season,  227  —  equipment,  228  —  tapping  the  trees,  229 
—  collecting  sap,  230  —  boiling  the  sap,  230  —  making 
sirup,  230  —  sugaring-off,  232  —  yield  per  tree,  233  — 
effect  on  tree,  233  —  wintergreen  oil  from  black  birch, 
235  —  tanning  materials,  235  —  specifications  of  extract 
wood,  237 

CHAPTER   XI 
THE  DURABILITY  AND  PRESERVATION  OF  WOODS         .         .     238-258 

Factors  influencing  durability,  239  —  naturally  dura- 
ble woods,  241  —  substitutes,  242  —  cause  of  rot,  243  — 
method  of  seasoning  logs  and  timber,  245  —  seasoning 
lumber,  245  —  coating  of  timbers,  246  —  coal  tar,  247  — 
oil  paint,  247 — lime  whitewash,  247  —  charring,  248  — 
general  rules  on  preserving  timbers,  248  —  preserving 
materials,  250  —  brush  method,  250  —  dipping,  251  — 
open-tank  treatment,  252 

CHAPTER   XII 
ARBORICULTURE  AND  ORNAMENTAL  PLANTING      .         .        .     259-276 

Selection  of  ornamental  trees,  259  —  transplanting 
large  trees,  263  — pruning,  266  — to  improve  shape  of 
tree,  267  —  how  to  prune,  269  —  table  of  ornamental 
trees,  270 


Xll 


Contents 


CHAPTER   XIII 

HISTORY  OF  THE  FOREST 

Development  in  Germany,  277  —  the  North  American 
experience,  282  —  Forest  Service  in  the  United  Stales, 
287  —  development  of  forests  in  Canada,  292 


FOREST  INFLUENCES 


CHAPTER   XIV 


Influence  on  precipitation,   302  —  on  run-off,  302  — 
erosion,  308  —  lessening  of  evaporation,  312 


PAGES 

277-300 


301-320 


CHAPTER   XV 

TABLES  AND  RULES 

Relative  hardness  of  woods,  321  —  fuel  value  and 
weight  of  dry  wood,  322  —  weights  of  cord  wood,  324  — 
land  measure,  324  —  weight  per  1000  of  seasoned  lum- 
ber, 325  —  well-seasoned  fuel,  325  —  cord  wood  on  an 
acre,  326  —  shape  of  the  ax,  327  —  tables  of  growth, 
328  — yield  tables,  331— volume  tables,  333  —  table 
showing  durability  of  fence  posts,  337 


321-337 


THE   FARM  WOODLOT 


THE    FARM    WOODLOT 

CHAPTER   I 
THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF   THE  FOREST 

FARM  forestry  is  the  raising  of  a  timber  crop  on  a  farm 
or  in  conjunction  with  usual  agricultural  operations.  It 
differs  from  other  or  general  forestry  only  in  the  extent  of 
its  operations.  In  a  broad  way,  all  forestry  is  agriculture 
because  it  is  the  rearing  of  a  crop  from  the  land.  The 
United  States  Forest  Service  is  one  of  the  divisions  or 
parts  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  Forestry  is 
taught  in  the  colleges  of  agriculture.  Professional  for- 
estry is  only  that  large  application  requiring  all  of  one's 
time  and  demanding  special  preparation  as  a  life  work. 

Farmers  must  undertake  to  grow  timber  crops  with  as 
much  care  and  forethought  as  they  produce  other  crops. 
In  many  parts  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  the  forest 
must  be  planted  outright ;  in  other  regions  it  is  a  question 
of  maintaining  and  improving  the  natural  forest.  In  any 
case,  the  farmer  must  recognize  not  only  the  value  of 
wood  and  timber  to  himself,  but  also  the  importance  of 
the  forest  to  the  country  and  to  mankind  at  large. 

It  should  be  understood  at  the  beginning  that  forestry 
has  to  do  with  woods,  and  not  with  city  planting,  shade 
trees,  or  home  lawns  or  parks.  Separate  trees  do  not 

B  1 


2  The  Farm  Woodlot 

make  a  forest  any  more  than  separate  buildings  make  a 
city.  The  term  "city  forestry"  is  a  contradiction.  A 
wood  or  forest  has  its  own  life,  and  it  produces  and  it 
meets  a  certain  set  of  conditions.  The  cultivation  of 
separate  trees  is  arboriculture;  if  the  subjects  are  fruit 
trees,  the  cultivation  of  them  falls  in  the  domain  of  po- 
mology. 

FOREST   ECONOMICS 

The  forests  have  never  received  the  proper  credit  for 
the  great  part  they  have  played  in  the  rapid  development 
and  civilization  of  this  country.  So  strenuous  was  the 
struggle  of  the  early  settlers  to  subdue  the  forest  and  wrest 
from  it  the  land  necessary  for  their  farms,  and  so  omni- 
present was  that  forest,  that  it  came  to  be  considered  as  an 
enemy  to  be  fought ;  the  benefits  accruing  from  it  were 
lost  in  the  sum  of  injuries. 

And  yet  that  very  abundance  of  forests  —  so  often 
considered  as  a  curse  —  was  an  enormous  factor  in  the 
civilizing  of  the  country,  in  the  rapid  rise  in  the  Ameri- 
can standard  of  living.  Lumber  was  at  that  time  by  far 
the  cheapest  building  material.  This  cheapness  of  lum- 
ber brought  a  neat  house  within  the  reach  of  every  man, 
and  with  the  neat  house  comes  the  increased  pride  in  the 
home,  the  increased  self-respect  and  with  it  the  rise  in  the 
standard  of  living. 

Men  with  no  capital  at  all  could  hew  themselves  a 
home  from  the  forests.  With  an  ax  they  built  log  cabins. 
In  the  winter  they  worked  in  logging  camps  and  earned 
the  money  on  which  they  could  live  while  they  cleared 
the  land  and  started  their  farms.  Fence  material  grew 
in  the  fields.  Fuel  was  everywhere. 


The  Significance  of  the  Forest  3 

Later,  settlement  moved  westward  to  the  prairie  and 
the  plains.  Sod  huts  for  years  were  the  only  homes  they 
knew.  The  dread  of  the  winter  was  acute  because  of  the 
scarcity  of  fuel.  The  building  of  good  homes  and  towns 
was  slow  on  account  of  the  lack  of  building  material.  It 
was  only  the  construction  of  railroads  that  carried  civili- 
zation and  comfort  rapidly  across  these  treeless  areas, 
and  much  of  the  freight  in  the  earlier  days  was  wood  in 
one  form  or  another.  Even  the  rapid  building  of  the 
many  railroads  was  due  to  the  abundance  of  tie  timbers. 
The  railroads,  the  great  civilizing  highways  of  the  prairies, 
are  laid  on  millions  of  wooden  ties. 

Nor  does  wood  play  a  much  less  important  part  in  the 
world  to-day.  In  spite  of  the  innumerable  substitutes 
that  have  been  brought  into  use,  the  wood  consumption 
is  greater  per  capita  than  it  was  in  the  days  of  early  settle- 
ment. For  every  substitute  introduced,  many  new  uses 
for  wood  have  been  discovered.  While  it  is  possible  by 
care  and  economy  of  use  greatly  to  reduce  the  per  capita 
consumption  of  wood,  the  experience  of  European  coun- 
tries has  shown  that  no  nation  can  enjoy  the  highest 
prosperity  without  the  produce  of  forests. 

While  there  are  certain  parts  of  this  country  in  which 
the  timber  supply  has  run  far  short  of  the  demand,  the 
development  of  our  transportation  facilities  has  been  such 
that  other  timbered  sections  have  always  been  able  to 
supply  the  want  without  hardship  to  the  denuded  section. 
Thus  it  is  that  the  sources  of  lumber  have  been  pushed  far 
back  into  the  mountainous  regions  of  the  West  and  the 
less  densely  populated  parts  of  the  Southeast,  without 
the  knowledge  being  very  painfully  impressed  upon  the 


4  The  Farm  Woodlot 

people  of  the  East  and  the  Central  States,  their  own 
timber  supply  having  long  since  fallen  far  below  their 
needs.  This  cannot  continue  and  the  time  will  come,  and 
that  at  no  very  distant  future,  when  there  will  not  be 
enough  forests  left  in  the  whole  United  States  to  supply 
the  demand.  Nor  is  there  much  hope  of  very  lasting 
supplies  being  available  for  us  in  other  countries.  America 
is  the  last  great  treasure-house  of  virgin  timber  in  the 
northern  hemisphere.  The  timber  of  South  America, 
the  only  southern  continent  that  has  a  great  excess,  is 
not  suitable  to  our  needs.  The  much  talked-of  forests 
of  Canada-  are  wholly  inadequate  to  supply  the  demands 
of  two  nations  for  any  length  of  time. 

It  is  imperative  that  the  United  States  shall  grow  the 
timber  necessary  for  its  own  use,  and  that  a  beginning  be 
made  at  once.  Already  the  time  necessary  to  grow  the 
timber  for  our  own  needs  is  short.  We  may  call  our 
country  an  agricultural  country  and  a  manfacturing  coun- 
try ;  but  classify  it  as  we  may,  it  must  be  a  timber-pro- 
ducing country  or  our  other  interests  will  inevitably  suffer. 

At  present,  the  care  of  our  forests,  reproduction  of  our 
old  forests  and  the  creation  of  new  ones  are  neglected, 
because  it  is  said  that  such  work  will  not  pay.  The 
experience  of  European  countries,  most  of  which  have 
passed  through  exactly  the  same  stages  of  development 
as  ours,  proves  conclusively  that  it  does  pay.  It  goes 
back  directly  to  the  old  question  of  supply  and  demand. 
It  is  necessary  only  for  the  demand  sufficiently  to  exceed 
the  supply  to  make  it  pay  to  raise  trees  on  what  is  now  our 
most  valuable  agricultural  land.  This  condition,  however, 
will  never  obtain  except  in  peculiar  districts,  because,  and 


The  Significance  of  the  Forest  5 

only  because,  we  have  enough  poorer  land  to  produce  all 
the  timber  we  shall  need. 

Germany  at  one  time  had  a  much  larger  area  of  forest 
than  she  needed.  At  that  time,  as  with  us  now,  they  cut 
the  timber  needed  without  reference  to  the  future.  It 
did  not  pay  them  to  grow  new  forests  while  there  was  a 
sufficient  supply  from  the  old  ones.  This  continued  until 
the  area  of  timber  land  was  reduced  to  a  low  percentage. 
As  the  supply  diminished,  the  price  increased  until  it  was 
apparent  that  some  of  the  poorer  qualities  of  land  being 
used  for  ordinary  agriculture  would  produce  more  revenue 
if  devoted  to  the  growing  of  forests.  When  the  forested 
area  became  again  too  large,  the  prices  fell  and  some  of 
the  forest  land  reverted  to  general  agriculture.  These 
trial  balances  showed  plainly  that  about  twenty-six  per 
cent  of  the  entire  land  area  had  to  be  devoted  to  timber 
growth  if  the  proper  balance  was  to  be  utilized  to  the 
greatest  financial  advantage. 

The  classification  of  lands 

Here  is  the  crux  of  the  whole  question  of  the  develop- 
ment of  our  country,  —  the  classification  of  our  lands  so 
that  they  may  be  used  in  the  most  productive  capacity. 
Up  to  the  present  time  this  has  not  been  done.  All  efforts 
in  this  direction  have  been  unsatisfactory  because  they 
have  not  been  based  on  the  proper  data.  A  chemical 
analysis  of  soil  establishes  certain  facts  in  regard  to  its 
chemical  constituents;  in  certain  rare  instances  it  deter- 
mines the  possibility  or  impossibility  of  that  soil  support- 
ing a  certain  kind  of  plant  growth ;  it  may  indicate  that 
a  soil  is  chemically  suited  for  certain  crops ;  it  shows  the 


8  The  Farm  Woodlot 

similar  land  will  furnish  the  data  for  calculating  the  future 
value  of  the  forest  crop,  and  the  conversion  of  these  figures 
into  terms  of  annual  revenues  will  make  possible  compari- 
son with  usual  agricultural  revenues.  Since  the  forest  data 
are  not  based  on  actual  results  obtained  on  that  land,  a 
margin  of  safety  must  be  allowed.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  trend  of  lumber  prices  is  upward  and  the  tendency 
toward  increased  cost  of  producing  other  agricultural  crops 
must  be  carefully  studied.  We  find  ourselves  involved  in 
studies  of  growth,  fertility,  market  and  labor  conditions. 
This  is  a  complicated  problem,  but  it  must  be  solved  if  we 
are  to  realize  the  best  possible  returns  from  our  land  in  the 
future. 

The  greater  part  of  our  land,  when  considered  in  the 
mass,  is  too  clearly  of  either  one  class  or  the  other  for  its 
use  to  be  questioned.  There  are,  however,  two  classes  of 
land  that  are  near  the  border  line,  the  use  of  which 
must  be  decided  by  careful  study :  these  are  the  farm 
lands  that  are  so  run  down  as  to  produce  little  revenue  or 
that  have  lost  out  in  the  competition  with  cheaper  land 
in  the  West,  and.  the  undeveloped  land  that  was  originally 
forest  land  and  has  not  yet  been  cultivated.  The  dis- 
position of  these  lands  is  very  important,  for  its  improper 
use  means  a  tremendous  loss  to  individuals,  and  more 
especially  to  the  nation. 

As  an  example  of  this  doubtful  class,  the  "  hill 
lands"  of  New  York  or  some  of  the  poor  farm  lands  of 
New  England  may  be  considered.  Some  of  these  lands 
have  never  yielded  an  income  under  tillage  and  should 
never  have  been  cleared ;  others  yielded  a  small  net  revenue 
when  first  cleared,  but  have  since  ceased  to  be  profitable. 


The  Significance  of  the  Forest  9 

Some  of  these  lands  have  been  known  to  yield  as  high  as 
$  1.50  per  annum  net  profits  to  the  acre  under  forest,  even 
without  care.  Under  proper  management,  this  could  be 
doubled  or  trebled.  The  capital  invested  is  next  to 
nothing  and  the  labor  expended  is  small.  This,  it  is  to 
be  remembered,  is  true  of  lands  that  will  not  pay  any 
net  returns  under  usual  agricultural  crops,  and  it  is  true 
of  practically  all  such  lands  that  are  not  swampy. 

Another  example  of  doubtful  land  classification  is  the 
jack-pine  land  of  the  Lake  States.  It  will  yield  a  small 
but  respectable  yearly  revenue  under  timber.  Under 
other  farm  crops  the  yields  are  so  small  as  to  make  profits 
doubtful. 

But  even  in  such  cases,  the  classification  cannot  be 
more  than  temporary;  and  is  often  reversed  by  outside 
influences.  Some  of  the  "hill  lands"  near  the  railroad 
stations  may  show  profits  from  usual  agricultural  crops, 
while  those  farther  away  are  no  longer  cultivated.  Some 
of  the  jack-pine  land  which  can  be  fertilized  and  is  properly 
located  may  yield  a  large  revenue  in  vegetables.  A  change 
in  the  location  of  a  railroad  might  upset  the  whole  scheme. 

There  are  many  sections  —  usually  the  poorer  ones  — 
which  consider  it  a  disgrace  to  have  any  of  their  lands 
classified  as  non-agricultural,  or  more  strictly  as  non-cul- 
tivable. They  think  that  it  gives  the  section  a  bad  name, 
that  it  will  keep  away  settlers.  This  is  a  mistaken  idea. 
It  would  be  much  better  frankly  to  divide  the  land  into 
classes  and  devote  each  class  to  its  proper  use.  How  much 
better  for  the  community  is  a  thrifty  forest  yielding  its 
steady  income,  than  a  farm  on  which  some  poor  man  is 
wearing  away  his  very  soul  and  growing  poorer  every  year! 


$  The  Farm  Woodlot 

dmilar  land  will  furnish  the  data  for  calculating  the  future 
ralue  of  the  forest  crop,  and  the  conversion  of  these  figures 
nto  terms  of  annual  revenues  will  make  possible  compari- 
son with  usual  agricultural  revenues.  Since  the  forest  data 
ire  not  based  on  actual  results  obtained  on  that  land,  a 
nargin  of  safety  must  be  allowed.  On  the  other  hand, 
;he  trend  of  lumber  prices  is  upward  and  the  tendency 
-oward  increased  cost  of  producing  other  agricultural  crops 
nust  be  carefully  studied.  We  find  ourselves  involved  in 
itudies  of  growth,  fertility,  market  and  labor  conditions. 
Phis  is  a  complicated  problem,  but  it  must  be  solved  if  we 
ire  to  realize  the  best  possible  returns  from  our  land  in  the 
uture. 

The  greater  part  of  our  land,  when  considered  in  the 
nass,  is  too  clearly  of  either  one  class  or  the  other  for  its 
ise  to  be  questioned.  There  are,  however,  two  classes  of 
and  that  are  near  the  border  line,  the  use  of  which 
nust  be  decided  by  careful  study:  these  are  the  farm 
ands  that  are  so  run  down  as  to  produce  little  revenue  or 
hat  have  lost  out  in  the  competition  with  cheaper  land 
n  the  West,  and  the  undeveloped  land  that  was  originally 
orest  land  and  has  not  yet  been  cultivated.  The  dis- 
•osition  of  these  lands  is  very  important,  for  its  improper 
[He  means  a  tremendous  loss  to  individuals,  and  more 
specially  to  the  nation. 

As  an  example  of  this  doubtful  class,  the  "  hill 
mds"  of  New  York  or  some  of  the  poor  farm  lands  of 
few  England  may  be  considered.  Some  of  these  lands 
avo  never  yielded  an  income  under  tillage  and  should 
rvn-  have  been  cleared  ;  others  yielded  a  small  net  revenue 
,'lirii  first,  cleared,  but  have  simv  iv:ised  to  Ix*  profitable. 


The  Significance  of  the  Forest  9 

Some  of  these  lands  have  been  known  to  yield  as  high  as 
$  1.50  per  annum  net  profits  to  the  acre  under  forest,  even 
without  care.  Under  proper  management,  this  could  be 
doubled  or  trebled.  The  capital  invested  is  next  to 
nothing  and  the  labor  expended  is  small.  This,  it  is  to 
be  remembered,  is  true  of  lands  that  will  not  pay  any 
net  returns  under  usual  agricultural  crops,  and  it  is  true 
of  practically  all  such  lands  that  are  not  swampy. 

Another  example  of  doubtful  land  classification  is  the 
jack-pine  land  of  the  Lake  States.  It  will  yield  a  small 
but  respectable  yearly  revenue  under  timber.  Under 
other  farm  crops  the  yields  are  so  small  as  to  make  profits 
doubtful. 

But  even  in  such  cases,  the  classification  cannot  be 
more  than  temporary;  and  is  often  reversed  by  outside 
influences.  Some  of  the  "hill  lands"  near  the  railroad 
stations  may  show  profits  from  usual  agricultural  crops, 
while  those  farther  away  are  no  longer  cultivated.  Some 
of  the  jack-pine  land  which  can  be  fertilized  and  is  properly 
located  may  yield  a  large  revenue  in  vegetables.  A  change 
in  the  location  of  a  railroad  might  upset  the  whole  scheme. 

There  are  many  sections  —  usually  the  poorer  ones  — 
which  consider  it  a  disgrace  to  have  any  of  their  lands 
classified  as  non-agricultural,  or  more  strictly  as  non-cul- 
tivable. They  think  that  it  gives  the  section  a  bad  name, 
that  it  will  keep  away  settlers.  This  is  a  mistaken  idea. 
It  would  be  much  better  frankly  to  divide  the  land  into 
classes  and  devote  each  class  to  its  proper  use.  How  much 
better  for  the  community  is  a  thrifty  forest  yielding  its 
steady  income,  than  a  farm  on  which  some  poor  man  is 
wearing  away  his  very  soul  and  growing  poorer  every  year! 


10  The  Farm  Woodlot 

The  prevailingly  unprofitable  farm  lands 

In  some  cases,  there  are  farms  on  which  all  the  land  is 
of  a  high  tillage  quality,  too  valuable  as  a  crop-producer 
to  be  devoted  to  other  purposes.  There  would  be  no  place 
for  a  woodlot.  But  even  under  these  conditions,  if  they 
extend  over  a  large  enough  area,  a  point  will  be  reached 


FIG.  2.  —  Two  crops  —  maize,  and  the  farm  forest. 

at  which  the  products  of  the  woodlot  will  become  so  high- 
priced  that  it  will  pay  to  raise  forest  trees  on  a  certain 
proportion  of  that  good  cultivable  soil.  That  is,  the  prod- 
ucts of  the  woodlot  would  be  more  valuable  than  the 
other  crops  that  could  be  raised  on  that  same  land. 
Should  the  area  devoted  to  woodlots  become  too  large, 


The  Significance  of  the  Forest  11 

the  prices  would  fall  and  some  of  the  lots  would  revert  to 
other  agriculture.  That  is  true  no  matter  how  valuable 
the  land  may  be. 

On  most  farms,  in  no  matter  what  section  of  the  coun- 
try, a  certain  percentage  of  the  land  yields  but  a  small 
profit  —  or  none  at  all  —  under  farm  crops.  In  ninety 
nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred,  such  land  is  abandoned  and 
lies  absolutely  idle  and  a  drag  on  the  remainder  of  the 
farm,  for  it  does  not  even  pay  its  own  taxes.  That  is  poor 
economy.  Why  abandon  a  piece  of  land  merely  because 
it  does  not  yield  quite  so  high  a  revenue  as  the  remainder  ? 
Why  narrow  our  scheme  of  management  by  confining  it 
to  the  land  best  suited  to  certain  crops  ?  Abandoned  land 
on  a  farm  is  always  a  sign  of  shiftlessness  or  of  an  un- 
developed plan.  Each  plat  should  be  devoted  to  the  pur- 
pose for  which  it  is  suited,  and  rare  indeed  is  the  land  that 
is  best  suited  to  idleness.  The  farmer's  problem  includes 
the  management  of  his  whole  farm,  not  of  some  one  par- 
ticular crop,  and  his  scheme  of  management  should  include 
as  careful  a  plan  for  the  poor  land  as  for  that  of  the  best 
quality;  in  fact  the  poorer  lands  usually  require  more 
careful  planning. 

The  best  general  solution  for  the  utilization  of  this 
unprofitable  farm  land  is  to  make  it  a  woodlot.  This  fits 
readily  into  any  scheme  of  farm  management,  produces  a 
good  profit  and  adds  to  the  value  of  the  farm  in  many 
ways.  No  land  on  the  farm  is  of  such  poor  quality  that  it 
will  not  support  tree  growth,  and  some  land  of  the  poorest 
fertility  will  produce  excellent  crops  of  certain  species  of 
trees.  The  little  work  connected  with  it  comes  in  the  win- 
ter, when  it  does  not  interfere  with  any  of  the  farm  work. 


12  The  Farm  Woodlot 

When  the  forest  is  already  standing  on  the  waste  land, 
as  is  usually  the  case  in  natural  forest  regions,  the  handling 
of  the  woodlot  becomes  a  question  of  proper  management 
to  improve  its  sylvicultural  condition  and  to  increase  the 
growth.  In  a  prairie  region,  or  where  the  original  forest 
has  been  cut  away,  it  is  a  question  of  selecting  the  proper 
species  for  planting  and  caring  for  the  plantation  so  as  to 
get  the  greatest  profits.  All  those  operations  are  described 
in  the  chapter  on  sylviculture. 

Products  of  the  woodlot 

As  already  stated  the  woodlot  increases  the  value  of  the 
farm  in  many  ways.  Probably  the  most  important  feature 
of  the  woodlot  in  most  sections  is  its  production  of  fuel. 
Most  farmers  use  wood  entirely  for  fuel.  If  this  fuel  is 
not  produced  on  the  farm,  it  usually  must  be  bought  at 
cash  outlay  —  we  are  considering  a  settled  community 
in  which  all  the  wild  lands  are  under  private  ownership 
(for  that  will  soon  be  the  condition  everywhere  through- 
out the  country)  —  and  in  addition  will  have  to  be  hauled 
for  long  distances.  The  bulkiness  of  the  material  makes 
this  hauling  alone  very  expensive.  A  woodlot  under 
proper  management  will  easily  yield  a  cord  of  wood  to  the 
acre  yearly  for  an  indefinite  period. 

Besides  the  production  of  cord  wood,  proper  handling 
will  produce  a  limited  amount  of  sawlogs.  The  profit 
from  these  is  usually  very  high,  because  only  selected  logs 
are  taken  and  the  quality  of  the  timber  is  very  high. 
Usually  the  market  is  close  at  hand  and  the  cost  of  logging 
consequently  very  low.  Even  now  the  woodlots  of  the 


The  Significance  of  the  Forest  13 

country  produce  some  80,000,000  ft.  B.M.1  of  sawlogs. 
This  could  easily  be  doubled  by  proper  management; 
and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  present  area  of  the  woodlots 
would  be  much  more  than  doubled  if  the  farm  lands  were 
all  put  to  the  use  for  which  they  are  best  adapted. 

Posts,  most  of  which  are  now  shipped  from  long  dis- 
tances at  great  expense,  can  be  grown  at  home,  and  the 
cost  of  fencing  be  very  much  reduced.  Telephone  poles 
for  local  lines  can  be  grown;  railroad  ties  are  eagerly 
bought  by  the  railroads.  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that 
all  of  these  products  yield  more  or  less  by-products  in  the 
form  of  cord  wood.  All  of  them,  also,  can  be  cut  in  the 
winter  when  men  are  otherwise  idle  and  expensive  horses 
are  standing  in  the  stable.  • 

In  many  cases,  this  woodlot  can  be  so  located  as  to  fur- 
nish shelter  from  damaging  winds  to  the  farm  crops  or 
homestead.  The  difference  between  a  cozy  home  nestling 
in  the  shelter  of  a  neighboring  woodlot,  and  a  house 
exposed  to  the  winds  of  winter  and  the  hot  dry  winds  of 
summer,  may  not  be  calculated  exactly  in  dollars  and 
cents,  but  it  certainly  means  much  to  those  living  therein. 

The  esthetic  feature  of  the  woodlot  is  also  incapable  of 
exact  valuation,  but  it  certainly  adds  much  to  the  attrac- 
tiveness of  the  country.  It  does  away  with  the  appear- 
ance of  shiftlessness  always  accompanying  waste  land. 
Further,  it  is  yielding  a  revenue  from  land  that  otherwise 
would  be  a  drag  on  the  remainder  of  the  farm ;  and  it  is 
preparing  the  way  for  still  greater  profits  later  on  —  for  a 
generation  or  two  of  forest  growth  will  rehabilitate  farm 

!B.M.  is  the  customary  abbreviation  for  board  measure,  i.e.  for  square 
feet  of  surface  of  boards  1  in.  thick. 


14  The  Farm  Woodlot 

land  that  has  been  run  down  beyond  the  possibility  of 
successful  cropping.  The  fertility  of  the  land  is  renewed 
and  increased  by  forest  growth. 

Lastly,  but  not  of  the  least  importance  commercially, 
all  these  features  greatly  increase  the  sale  value  of  the  land. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  a  well-regulated  woodlot  with  its 
appearance  and  its  possibilities  for  production  will  in- 
crease the  attractiveness  of  a  farm  sufficiently  to  raise  its 
sale  value  several  hundred  dollars. 

A  few  examples  of  the  results  of  forest  management  in 
Europe  and  parts  of  America  will  assist  in  showing  the 
possibilities  of  the  woodlot  as  a  money-producer.  Large 
areas  of  the  German  forests,  artificially  planted  and  care- 
fully tended,  yield  a  net  annual  revenue  of  $4  to  $8  per 
acre.  Only  a  few  of  them  yield  less  than  $2.50  per  acre. 
One  forest  in  Switzerland  yields  as  high  as  $14  per  acre. 
Such  large  profits  as  these,  in  many  cases  higher  than 
the  revenues  from  our  good  farm  lands,  are  not  yet 
possible  in  this  country  owing  to  the  low  cost  of  lumber, 
but  already  plantations  of  white  pine  in  New  England 
have  yielded  six  per  cent  on  the  investment  annually, 
and  that  under  rather  careless  management.  It  will  be 
some  time,  possibly,  before  such  profits  can  be  realized  on 
our  large  forest  areas,  but,  owing  to  the  ready  market  and 
the  possibility  of  more  complete  utilization,  the  woodlot 
can  already  be  made  to  participate  in  them. 

The  initial  expense  of  establishing  a  woodlot  is  small, 
the  expense  and  care  of  conducting  it  are  almost  negligible, 
and  the  returns,  considering  the  quality  of  the  land  on 
which  it  grows,  highly  satisfactory.  There  are  very 
few  farms  that  can  afford  to  be  without  a  woodlot. 


CHAPTER   II 

THE  PLACE  OF  THE  FOREST  IN  FARM  MAN- 
AGEMENT 

THE  time  has  come  when  the  woodlot  should  be  given 
its  proper  place  in  every  scheme  of  farm  management. 
There  was  a  time  when  every  man  in  the  prairie  country 
considered  it  good  farming  to  put  all  of  the  land  he  could 
plow  into  wheat;  that  time  has  passed.  Even  in  the  old 
East,  the  early  farmer  too  often  thought  of  his  farm  in 
terms  of  tillage  and  mowings  and  pasturage  rather  than 
including  forests.  All  land  is  not  suited  to  the  produc- 
tion of  wheat,  nor  can  the  best  wheat  land  maintain  its 
fertility  if  planted  to  wheat  continuously  for  a  long  series 
of  years. 

The  key  to  successful  farming  to-day  is  the  careful 
classification  of  land  (see  page  19)  and  the  no  less  careful 
selection  of  the  crops  best  suited  to  each  class.  The 
enormous  yields  secured  in  some  parts  of  the  older  coun- 
tries are  partly  due  to  very  intensive  methods,  but  are 
more  largely  dependent  on  the  detailed  study  of  the  same 
piece  of  land  through  several  generations  so  that  every 
peculiarity  of  the  soil  is  known,  the  crop  exactly  suited  to 
it  selected.  These  methods  will  bring  the  highest  yields, 
but  of  course  the  cost  of  production  and  the  market  must 
be  carefully  considered  in  order  to  obtain  the  highest  net 
returns.  The  high  cost  of  labor  may  in  one  case  prohibit 

15 


16  The  Farm  Woodlot 

the  crop  which  will  bring  the  highest  yield ;  the  lack  of  a 
market  may  prevent  it  in  another. 

This  proper  choice  of  crops  seems  simple  enough,  but 
the  idea  makes  its  way  very  slowly  against  the  customary 
practice.  Because  there  was  no  market  for  a  crop  ten 
years  ago,  it  is  still  avoided  to-day,  although  conditions 
may  have  changed  so  completely  that  it  would  now  be 
the  best-paying  crop  on  the  farm. 

It  is  this  misplaced  conservatism  that  has  for  so  many 
years  kept  the  woodlot  from  its  proper  place  in  the  scheme 
of  farm  management.  When  there  were  large  areas  of 
natural  timber,  the  woodlot  products  were  so  plentiful 
that  they  had  no  value,  and  no  one  could  even  imagine 
the  time  when  they  would  be  scarce.  The  settlers  who 
occupied  the  treeless  prairie  all  came  from  the  regions  of 
plentiful  timber.  They  still  remembered  the  back- 
breaking  labor  of  clearing  up  the  forest,  and  hesitated  to 
sacrifice  any  of  that  beautiful  open  land  to  the  growth  of 
such  a  worthless  crop  —  for  so  it  was  in  their  country  — 
as  forest  trees,  even  though  they  were  paying  excessively 
high  prices  for  lumber,  posts  and  all  the  fuel  they  used. 
To  them  every  square  foot  planted  to  trees  was  a  sacrifice 
of  good,  productive  land,  —  land  which  might  be  produc- 
ing what  they  considered  a  valuable  crop,  —  to  produce 
something  which  had  no  intrinsic  value. 

These  conditions  have  changed  now  in  the  timbered 
area,  and  they  never  really  existed  in  the  prairies.  The 
woodlots  in  the  hills  of  the  forested  East  to-day  yield  as 
high  net  revenue  as  some  of  the  more  fertile  cultivated 
lands  of  the  valleys,  in  spite  of  the  utter  lack  of  care  and 
the  violent  abuses  they  have  suffered.  And  even  the  fertile 


The  Forest  in  Farm  Management  17 

prairie  lands  of  the  West,  owing  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
market,  will  sometimes  yield  a  higher  revenue  when  planted 
to  trees  and  properly  cared  for  than  any  other  crop  will 
average  for  the  same  period,  while  at  the  same  time  the 
woodlot  will  be  of  inestimable  value  to  the  rest  of  the  farm 
in  other  ways. 

CAPABILITIES    OF    THE    WOODLOT 

A  few  illustrations  will  demonstrate  this  very  clearly. 
In  New  England,  plantations  of  white  pine  made  forty 
years  ago  on  poor  gravelly  land,  depleted  by  a  long  series 
of  cropping,  have  yielded  as  high  as  forty  thousand  feet  of 
box  boards  to  the  acre,  worth  ten  dollars  a  thousand  on 
the  stump.  This  was  sufficient  to  pay  6  per  cent  interest 
per  annum  on  the  value  of  the  land  and  the  cost  of  estab- 
lishing the  plantation.  That  was  from  a  quality  of  land 
which  would  not  at  that  time  have  produced  any  other 
crop  which  would  have  paid  nearly  as  high  returns.  Yet 
the  owner  looked  upon  this,  as  waste  land  and  so  little  appre- 
ciated the  value  of  the  crop  that  he  sold  it  for  half  its  value 
without  taking  the  trouble  to  investigate  its  true  worth. 

There  are  throughout  the  New  England  states  many 
neglected,  run-down  farms  that  have  grown  up  to  volun- 
teer crops  of  white  pine.  These  crops  have  established 
themselves  without  expense  to  the  owner  and  have  never 
had  care  of  any  kind.  In  spite  of  this  neglect,  they  have 
produced  crops  more  valuable  than  farm  crops  and  have 
at  the  same  time  rejuvenated  the  soil. 

Warren,  in  Bulletin  295  of  the  Cornell  Experiment 
Station,  records  an  abandoned  field  in  New  York  that  had 
grown  up  to  such  a  volunteer  crop  of  trees.  This  field 
c 


18  The  Farm  Woodlot 

of  thirty-five  acres  not  only  received  absolutely  no  atten- 
tion, but  was  even  mistreated.  At  the  end  of  twenty-two 
years  the  timber  crop  was  sold  for  $106  per  acre,  a 
return  of  $4.82  per  acre  per  annum  from  land  which 
would  not  sell  for  $15  per  acre..  This  is  not  an  isolated 
case ;  there  are  acres  of  others  which  have  done  as  well. 

In  the  prairie  sections  of  the  Middle  West,  where  there 
is  no  natural  timber,  there  have  been  very  few  plantations 
made  for  commercial  purposes.  There  are  thousands  of 
plantations,  but  they  are  so  small  and  so  highly  valued  for 
their  protection  and  aesthetic  effect  that  they  are  seldom 
cut.  A  conservative  estimate  will  show,  however,  that 
they  have  a  high  intrinsic  value  for  timber,  posts  and  cord 
wood,  entirely  apart  from  the  valuable  protection  they 
afford  to  homes,  stock  and  crops. 

Consider,  for  example,  the  following  data  collected 
from  a  windbreak  plantation  near  Crookston,  Minnesota : 
The  plantation  is  two  rods  wide  and  contains  five  rows  of 
cottonwood  trees  planted  four  feet  apart  in  the  row. 
This  means  1650  trees  per  acre.  These  trees  will  all 
make  one  post,  and  half  of  them  two.  This  means  2475 
posts  which  have  a  value  of  .08  apiece  for  treating  pur- 
poses, —  a  yield  of  $198  per  acre  in  twelve  years,  or  $16.50 
per  annum,  over  the  cost  of  production.  This  is  almost  as 
much  as  the  gross  returns  from  a  wheat  crop.  Should  there 
not  be  a  market  for  so  many  posts,  the  forty  cords  of 
wood  will  find  a  ready  sale  at  $5  per  cord,  and  the  profits 
will  be  practically  the  same.  The  wheat  crop  so  highly 
valued  and  universally  planted  in  this  section  will  not 
yield  a  third  of  this,  and  there  is  no  grain  crop  that  will 
average  such  a  high  revenue  for  such  a  long  period  of 


The  Forest  in  Farm  Management  19 

years.  Yet  there  are  millions  of  acres  of  wheat  planted 
every  year,  and  not  an  acre  of  forest  except  for  the  pro- 
tection of  less  valuable  crops. 

These  examples  (and  they  are  typical  of  thousands  of 
other  cases)  show  clearly  enough  that  the  farm  woodlot 
deserves  a  definite  and  respected  place  in  every  scheme  of 
farm  management. 

LOCATING   THE   WOODLOT 

It  is  clear,  then,  that  there  should  be  a  woodlot  on 
every  farm.  The  next  thing  is  to  choose  the  proper  loca- 
tion for  it.  For  convenience  we  shall  discuss  this  under 
two  heads :  the  hilly  country  of  the  East,  and  the  level 
prairies  of  the  West. 

In  comparison  with  the  prairies,  nearly  all  of  the 
eastern  farm  lands  may  be  considered  hilly.  On  almost 
every  farm  there  is  a  tract  of  land  ill  suited  to  cultivation, 
either  on  account  of  the  steepness  of  the  slope  or  the  poor 
quality  of  the  soil.  In  some  cases  it  is  so  poor  that  it  is 
not  cultivated  at  all ;  in  others  it  can  be  forced  to  yield  a 
slender  crop  which  is  often  produced  at  a  loss.  In  either 
case  it  is  the  place  to  choose  for  the  woodlot.  The  steep- 
ness of  the  slope  does  not  in  any  way  interfere  with  the 
growth  of  the  trees,  which  require  little,  if  any,  cultivation 
in  that  country,  and  the  roots  of  the  trees  hold  the  soil  in 
place,  prevent  the  hillside  from  eroding  and  burying  the 
richer  soils  of  the  valleys.  Nor  is  the  poor  quality  of  the 
soil  much  hindrance,  for  trees  may  do  well  on  soil  which  is 
too  poor  to  support  any  other  crop.  Every  one  of  these  so 
called  " waste  places"  on  the  farm  is  capable  of  producing 
a  very  respectable  revenue  from  the  growth  of  forest  trees. 


20  The  Farm  Woodlot 

Even  in  the  prairie  districts  (and  with  the  prairies  are 
here  grouped  all  the  flat  lands  of  fairly  uniform  quality), 
there  are  patches  of  land,  some  large  and  some  small, 
which  are  poorly  suited  to  cultivation  and  naturally  sug- 
gest themselves  as  woodlot  locations. 

In  the  comparatively  few  cases  in  which  the  land  is  of 
uniformly  good  quality  throughout,  the  necessity  for  wind- 
breaks may  aid  in  the  location  of  the  woodlots.  In  all 
the  prairie  sections  this  will  be  true,  no  matter  what  the 
character  of  the  land.  The  cold  winds  of  winter  and  the 
hot,  drying  winds  of  summer  are  now  recognized  as  great 
obstacles  to  successful  farming  in  these  exposed  regions. 
Homes  are  made  uncomfortable,  stock  suffers  and  exces- 
sive supplies  of  forage  are  made  necessary  by  the  bitterly 
cold  winds  of  winter.  Soil  moisture  is  evaporated,  and, 
in  many  cases,  the  immature  crops  are  burned  up  in  the 
fields  by  the  hot,  dry  winds  of  midsummer.  Dry-farm- 
ing methods  and  the  selection  of  drought-resistant  species 
are  far  from  successful.  Windbreaks  are  an  absolute 
necessity. 

These  harmful  winds  blow  consistently  in  a  definite 
direction.  Windbreaks  should  be  placed  at  right  angles  to 
them  and  at  sufficiently  close  intervals  to  protect  the  inter- 
vening spaces.  These  spaces  should  not  much  exceed  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  in  width,  as  a  windbreak  cannot  be 
expected  to  extend  its  influence  over  a  distance  much 
greater  than  ten  times  its  height.  A  number  of  such 
breaks  would,  however,  prevent  the  formation  of  the 
diurnal 1  winds  which  do  so  much  of  the  damage.  The 

1  Winds  which  rise  with  the  sun  each  day  and  go  down  with  it ;  local 
winds  made  possible  by  large  unbroken  areas  of  overheated  surface. 


The  Forest  in  Farm  Management  21 

location  of  these  windbreaks  is  dictated  by  the  necessity 
for  protection,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  these  same 
breaks  should  not  serve  the  double  purpose  of  protection 
and  wood  production.  An  increased  width  of  wind- 
breaks will  greatly  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  break  and 
make  it  an  adequate  source  of  wood  supply  without  with- 
drawing nearly  so  large  an  area  from  cultivation  as  would 
be  necessary  if  the  windbreaks  and  woodlots  were  separate. 
The  land  thus  devoted  to  tree  growth  should  never  be 
less  than  5  per  cent  of  the  farm,  and  in  many  cases  20 
per  cent  of  it  can  be  so  used  to  advantage.  In  the  case  of 
patchy  land,  the  size  of  the  woodlot  should  be  governed  by 
the  area  of  the  non-tillable  land,  provided  always  that  it 
did  not  go  below  the  minimum,  as  stated  above.  If  the 
proper  soil  classification  has  been  made,  it  cannot  exceed 
the  maximum,  —  for  there  is  no  money  in  farming  poor 
soil.  The  land  for  this  purpose  should  not  be  grudgingly 
set  apart  or  considered  a  loss  to  the  farm.  It  forms  as 
distinctly  legitimate  a  part  of  the  scheme  of  farm  manage- 
ment as  wheat,  oats,  corn  or  any  of  the  other  cultivated 
crops,  and  in  wood  products  alone  will  pay  a  higher  rent 
on  the  quality  of  land  it  occupies  than  any  of  them, 
entirely  apart  from,  and  in  addition  to,  its  value  as  a 
windbreak,  a  harbor  and  breeding  place  for  insect-eating 
birds,  and  a  most  pleasing  feature  in  the  landscape. 

SUMMARY    OF   PREVIOUS   DISCUSSIONS 

Every  farm  should  have  a  woodlot,  —  some  large,  some 
small,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  soil,  but  there  is  no 
land  so  valuable  that  it  will  not  pay  to  put  a  small  part 
of  it  in  a  woodlot. 


22  The  Farm  Woodlot 

The  woodlot  should  not  be  used  as  a  pasture.  No 
farmer  would  pasture  his  wheat  crop ;  why  then  should  he 
pasture  a  crop  that  is  even  more  valuable  ?  If  shade  is 
needed  in  the  pasture,  let  him  plant  some  good  shade  trees 
there  and  fence  them  off  until  they  are  large  enough  to 
take  care  of  themselves.  If  the  trees  are  taken  care  of, 
they  will  be  worth  a  great  deal;  if  they  are  injured  by 
grazing  animals,  they  will  be  worth  much  less.  The 
value  of  such  pasturage  is  comparatively  nothing. 

The  woodlot  should  be  located  on  the  poorest  land  on  the 
farm.  The  quality  of  the  soil  is  very  important  in  the 
production  of  grain  crops;  for  the  growth  of  trees  it  is 
unimportant.  In  this  respect  many  of  the  woodlot s  in 
the  East  are  now  poorly  located.  In  the  original  clearing 
of  the  farms  very  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  quality 
of  the  soil,  and  the  woodlot  was  often  left  on  the  most 
fertile  part  of  the  farm.  On  the  prairies  the  plantings 
should  be  so  located  as  to  furnish  the  best  protection  to 
the  cultivated  crops,  the  stockyards  and  the  homestead. 

Heretofore,  the  idea  of  protection  has  been  too  much 
restricted  to  the  homestead.  This  is  important  in  increas- 
ing the  comfort  of  the  home,  but  the  protection  of  the 
crops  is  far  more  important  from  the  financial  viewpoint. 
The  increase  in  yield  within  the  influence  of  the  wind- 
break will  often  exceed  50  per  cent.  It  is  often  objected 
that  such  a  break  destroys  the  fertility  of  the  adjoining 
field  for  a  rod  on  either  side  of  it.  This  objection  is 
easily  overruled  when  we  stop  to  consider  that  an  in- 
creased yield  of  10  per  cent  in  the  area  influenced  by  a 
thirty-five-foot  break  will  compensate  for  a  total  loss  on  a 
two-rod  strip  next  to  the  break.  Moreover,  there  is 


The  Forest  in  Farm  Management  23 

always  more  or  less  of  a  loss  along  any  boundary,  whether 
it  be  a  fence  or  a  row  of  trees,  so  the  windbreak  should 
not  be  charged  with  too  much  waste.  In  any  case  the 
wood  produced  in  the  break  will  more  than  pay  for  all  the 
land  it  occupies  or  wastes  entirely  aside  from  the  protection 
it  affords. 

Lastly,  the  profits  from  groves  already  harvested  show 
that  there  is  not  a  section  of  the  northeastern  United 
States  or  Canada  where  a  farm  woodlot  of  the  proper  size 
will  not  produce  a  crop  more  valuable,  that  is,  yielding  a 
higher  net  revenue  per  annum,  than  any  grain  crop. 
Therefore  the  woodlot  should  always  be  given  a  prominent 
and  definite  place  in  any  plan  of  farm  management,  not  for 
any  sentimental  or  esthetic  reason,  but  because  it  is  a 
money-maker,  the  best  one  on  the  farm. 

THE    CLEARING    OF   A   FARM 

There  is  one  type  of  farm  on  which  forestry  must 
necessarily  play  a  much  larger  part  than  it  does  on  the 
older  and  more  settled  parts  of  the  country  or  on  the 
windy  prairies,  yet  it  has  so  far  received  absolutely  no 
attention.  This  type  comprises  those  farms  that  are  now 
being  cleared  in  the  timbered  or  cut-over  regions. 

It  is  very  natural  that  little  attention  should  have  been 
given  these  farms  in  a  forestry  way.  These  districts  have 
always  had  a  superabundance  of  timber.  Logging  has 
been  the  principal  business.  Most  of  the  settlers  have 
taken  the  claims  for  the  sake  of  the  timber  on  them,  or 
because  they  were  cheap  stump  land.  Many  of  them  have 
worked  in  the  logging  camps  and  have  the  logger's  con- 
tempt for  anything  except  big,  clear  saw  timber.  They 


24  The  Farm  Woodlot 

care  nothing  for  young  growth  and  have  no  conception  of 
the  land  ever  being  able  to  produce  valuable  timber  again. 
To  them  the  forest  is  a  mine,  not  a  growing  crop. 

None  of  these  men  has  ever  cleared  any  land,  and  he 
has  no  idea  of  what  it  means  to  clean  up  a  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  stump  land  so  that  it  can  be  cultivated. 

The  wrong  way 

Without  any  definite  plans,  or  any  estimate  of  costs, 
persons  pick  out  the  place  that  seems  the  easiest  to  clear 
and  build  a  small  shack  in  the  middle  of  it,  absolutely 
regardless  of  the  character  of  the  soil.  Most  of  them  know 
very  little  of  farming.  They  have  never  actually  figured 
on  the  results  they  expect  to  attain,  and  have  an  indefinite 
idea  that  they  are  going  to  clear  the  whole  farm  in  two 
years.  They  have  a  still  hazier,  but  more  strongly  rooted, 
idea  that  the  more  often  a  piece  of  land  is  burned  over,  the 
easier  it  is  to  clear. 

Under  these  conditions  it  is  natural  that  they  should 
not  only  take  no  precautions  against  fire,  but  should  even 
use  every  effort  to  have  the  land  burned  over  as  often  as 
possible.  In  a  very  few  years  every  growing  thing  on  the 
farm  is  destroyed  except  the  almost  indestructible  and 
rapidly  growing  brush.  The  land  is  reduced  to  a  tangle  of 
worthless  "bush,"  and  all  tree  seed  and  tree  seedlings 
have  been  destroyed.  The  density  of  the  brush  soon 
makes  the  volunteer  growth  of  trees  impossible  and  even 
successful  planting  very  difficult  and  expensive. 

Less  than  an  acre  is  the  average  area  cleared  the  first 
year,  and  the  man  who  has  ten  acres  of  cultivated  land  at 
the  end  of  five  years  is  the  energetic  exception.  He  has 


The  Forest  in  Farm  Management  25 

had  but  little  time  to  work  on  his  own  place.  He  had  no 
capital  to  start  with,  and  must  live.  Clearing  land  is  hard, 
discouraging  and  lonesome  work.  He  finds  more  imme- 
diate returns  and  more  congenial  work  in  the  logging 
camps  in  the  winter,  on  the  drive  in  the  spring  and  in  the 
harvest  fields  of  the  established  farms  in  the  fall.  This 
enforced  absence  from  home  makes  it  impossible  for  him 
to  keep  stock  of  any  kind  or  have  a  garden,  the  only 
two  lines  of  work  open  to  him  with  the  land  at  his  dis- 
posal. 

Should  he  stick  to  the  place  long  enough  to  clear  up  ten 
acres,  he  almost  invariably  plants  it  up  to  the  grain  crop 
most  popular  in  that  section.  Distance  from  market, 
forced  neglect  and  lack  of  facilities  generally  destroy  the 
possibility  of  profit;  he  cannot  eat  the  crop  himself  and 
is  no  nearer  self-support  and  prosperity  than  he  was  be- 
fore. 

In  nine  cases  out  of  every  ten  the  settler  becomes  dis- 
gusted or  completely  discouraged,  lets  the  so-called 
"farm"  go  for  taxes  and  moves  on,  probably  to  repeat  the 
performance  at  some  other  place. 

Such  methods,  or  lack  of  method,  have  broken  the 
hearts  and  discouraged  the  lives  of  thousands  of  men.  It 
has  delayed  the  development  of  our  timbered  cut-over 
lands  a  half  a  century  and  has  left  our  country  burdened 
with  thousands  of  abandoned  claims,  worse  than  worth- 
less waste  lands  which  might  just  as  well  be  producing 
millions  of  revenue  and  supporting  countless,  prosperous 
homes  if  the  tree  value  of  the  land  had  only  been  con- 
sidered in  the  first  place. 


26  The  Farm  Woodlot 

The  right  way 

The  first  necessity  for  a  man  who  is  attempting  to  clear 
a  cut-over  or  timbered  claim,  unless  he  has  unlimited 
capital  and  does  not  have  to  depend  upon  the  farm  for  his 
livelihood,  is  the  realization  that  land  devoted  to  the 
growth  of  timber  is  capable  of  producing  a  good  revenue 
if  protected  from  fire.  Without  that  realization  his  success 
must  necessarily  be  very  limited  and  very  uncertain. 

Next,  he  must  bear  in  mind  that  not  all  land  is  worth 
clearing.  Many  a  man  has  devoted  his  whole  life  and 
sacrificed  his  family  in  the  effort  to  clear  a  farm  which 
proved  to  be  useless  when  it  was  cleared.  Select  good 
land ;  a  poor  farm  is  worse  than  none.  That  same  land 
will  produce  good  profits  in  timber ;  as  a  farm  it  will  be 
only  an  expense  to  the  owner. 

A  piece  of  good  land  chosen,  the  next  thing  needed 
is  a  definite  and  comprehensive  plan  of  operation.  Five 
acres  is  more  than  the  average  man  can  clear  alone  in  a 
year.  Eighty  acres  is  more  than  he  ought  to  attempt  in  a 
lifetime.  If  he  is  going  to  accomplish  anything,  he  must 
be  on  the  place  all  the  time ;  if  he  is  going  to  be  there  all 
the  time,  the  place  must  support  him  from  the  very  start. 
This  means  that  the  first  crops  must  be  such  as  he  can  eat. 
Fortunately  these  can  be  raised  on  a  small  patch  of  the 
right  kind  of  land. 

The  first  step,  then,  is  clear.  The  first  clearing  should 
be  made  in  the  place  best  suited  to  a  garden.  From  this 
he  can  easily  raise  enough  to  support  him  and  sell  enough 
more  to  buy  the  mere  necessities  of  life. 

The  brush  land  furnishes  good  pasture  for  cattle  and 


The  Forest  in  Farm  Management  27 

sheep,  especially  when  it  is  seeded  between  the  stumps, 
and  advantage  should  be  taken  of  it.  Eighty  acres  will 
suffice  for  cultivated  land  and  pasture  for  the  first  genera- 
tion at  least.  This  area  should  be  selected  at  the  start 
and  fenced  off.  There  should  be  a  definite  plan  of  develop- 
ment for  this  eighty  acres  covering  the  next  forty  years, 
but  the  details  of  it  lie  beyond  the  province  of  this  book. 

Our  business  lies  with  the  other  eighty  acres.  It  has 
been  explained  above  that  this  eighty  acres  will  not  be 
needed  in  the  plan  of  farm  development  for  at  least  forty 
years.  If  this  land  is  burned  over  and  pastured,  as  is  the 
common  practice,  it  will  steadily  deteriorate  and  will 
produce  absolutely  nothing.  In  the  meanwhile  the  taxes 
are  piling  up  and  the  eighty  acres  of  unused  land  —  pro- 
ducing no  revenue  —  is  hanging  as  a  lifeless  burden  on  the 
rest  of  the  farm.  The  tract  cannot  pay  its  way,  and  the 
rest  of  the  farm  must  not  only  pay  the  taxes,  but  must 
eventually  pay  for  the  clearing  of  the  land  as  well. 

This  is  almost  the  universal  custom,  but  it  is  quite  as 
foolish  as  it  is  universal.  Experience  has  proven  con- 
clusively that  any  of  this  timber  land  and  cut-over  land 
-  if  the  soil  is  good  —  will  grow  up  to  a  volunteer  crop  of 
timber,  provided  it  is  protected  from  fire  and  grazing, 
and  that  without  any  work  or  expenditure  on  the  part  of 
the  owner.  Just  how  valuable  the  crop  of  timber  is  will 
depend  on  the  character  of  the  soil  and  the  consequent 
character  of  the  forest.  It  will  vary  from  forty  cords  of 
firewood  in  some  types  to  forty  thousand  feet  of  valuable 
box  board  lumber  in  others.  In  either  case  it  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  pay  the  taxes  for  the  forty  years,  pay  the  expenses 
of  clearing  the  land,  if  this  seems  desirable,  and  often  in 


28  The  Farm  Woodlot 

addition  will  pay  a  higher  net  revenue  per  acre  than  the 
rest  of  the  farm  has  averaged  in  these  early  stages  of  de- 
velopment. 

A  very  conservative  estimate  of  the  value  of  this  eighty 
acres  of  volunteer  timber  crop  at  the  end  of  the  forty 
years  would  be  $6400,  and  in  some  sections  of  the  country  it 
would  be  three  times  as  much.  This  is  an  unearned  incre- 
ment which  is  not  to  be  despised,  and  yet  it  is  being 
absolutely  ignored  and  thrown  away  on  tens  of  thousands 
of  farms  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  to-day. 

Nor  should  all  of  the  timber  ever  be  cut  from  the  farm, 
even  where* the  height  of  its  development  has  been  at- 
tained. In  these  regions  of  plentiful  timber  it  is  but 
natural  that  the  value  of  the  woodlot  should  be  under- 
estimated or  altogether  ignored.  But  there  could  not  be 
a  greater  mistake.  It  is  an  economic  impossibility  to 
cultivate  all  the  land  in  any  section.  Part  of  it  must  be 
in  timber.  Many  illustrations  of  the  truth  of  this  can  be 
seen  in  the  older  settled  districts.  Take,  for  example,  the 
most  highly  developed  portions  of  the  country,  places 
where  farm  land  has  reached  a  ridiculously  high  figure  and 
waste  space  is  done  away  with.  These  sections  in  the 
timber  belt  show  from  10  to  25  per  cent  still  in  forest ;  in 
the  prairies  the  established  woodlot  is  the  farmer's  most 
cherished  possession,  and  the  acreage  devoted  to  this  pur- 
pose is  steadily  increasing.  It  can  never  be  otherwise. 

Why,  then,  should  the  pioneer  struggle  to  clear  all  of 
the  timber  from  his  farm  when  he  or  his  descendants  will 
most  certainly  be  obliged  to  replace  some  of  it  ?  The  correct 
handling  of  the  woodlands  of  an  uncleared  claim  is  the  most 
important  factor  in  the  management  and  development  of 
such  farms  and  should  receive  the  attention  it  deserves. 


CHAPTER   III 
THE  GROWTH  OF   THE   TREE 

No  book  on  forestry,  no  matter  how  "popular"  it  may 
be,  would  be  complete  without  a  brief  sketch  describing 
the  parts  of  a  tree  and  how  it  grows,  —  for  on  that  knowl- 
edge is  based  the  management  of  the  woodlot  in  all  its 
phases. 

A  tree  is  a  plant  of  upright  growth  which  usually 
attains  a  height  of  at  least  fifteen  feet.  It  consists  of  an 
upright  branching  stem,  roots,  leaves,  buds,  flowers  and 
fruit.  The  stem  is  usually  unbranched  below,  when  the 
plant  is  grown,  forming  a  trunk  or  bole. 

The  leaves,  the  most  evident  part  of  the  tree  in  summer, 
are  the  factories  where  the  food  for  the  nourishment  of  the 
whole  tree  is  prepared.  In  this  process  they  take  in 
carbonic  acid  gas  from  the  air,  and  give  off  oxygen  as  a 
waste  product.  They  may  be  almost  any  shape,  from  the 
feather-like  compound  leaves  of  the  honey  locust  to  the 
needle-like  leaf  of  the  pine  or  the  mere  scale  of  the  arbor- 
vitse,  and  the  size  varies  greatly.  No  matter  what 
their  shape  or  size,  they  perform  the  same  functions  of 
manufacturing  the  raw  materials  taken  from  the  air 
and  soil  into  carbohydrates  for  plant-food. 

If  the  leaves  remain  on  the  tree  over  winter,  this  tree 
is  called  an  evergreen;  if  the  leaves  all  fall  off  in  the 

29 


30  The  Farm  Woodlot 

autumn,  it  is  called  deciduous.  Even  the  evergreens  do 
not  keep  the  same  leaves  all  the  time ;  they  are  only  called 
evergreens  because  they  never  lose  all  their  leaves  at  the 
same  time.  The  white  pine  needles  remain  on  the  trees 
from  two  to  four  years,  the  red  cedar  seven  or  eight  and  the 
other  evergreens  range  between  these  two.  In  falling, 
they  give  back  to  the  soil  chemicals  that  the  tree  has 
drawn  from  it,  and  more  besides.  It  is  this  which  causes 
the  continued  growth  of  forest  on  a  piece  of  land  to  increase 
the  fertility  of  the  soil. 

The  roots  supply  most  of  the  raw  material  with  which 
the  leaves  work.  They  are  underground  branches  spe- 
cially adapted  to  absorb  moisture  from  the  soil. 

Some  trees,  such  as  the  oaks,  hickories,  walnuts  and 
some  of  the  pines,  have  practically  only  one  root,  a  large 
one  called  a  tap-root,  running  straight  down  into  the 
ground.  This  is  an  inherited  quality  and  cannot  be  modi- 
fied very  much  by  a  change  in  the  environment. 

Others,  such  as  the  spruce,  tamarack  and  balsam,  have  a 
lateral  system  of  roots  which  lie  on  or  very  near  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  while  still  others,  like  our  maples,  ashes 
and  elms,  have  a  combination  of  the  two,  or  a  mixed  system. 
These  are  a  little  better  able  to  change  and  adapt  them- 
selves to  new  conditions. 

These  roots,  by  reason  of  very  fine  rootlets,  or  root  hairs, 
suck  up  water  from  the  soil  and  in  solution  with  it  certain 
small  quantities  of  lime,  magnesia  and  potash,  —  the  raw 
materials  for  plant-food.  This  water  passes  through  the 
roots,  up  the  stem  of  the  tree  and  out  the  branches  to 
the  leaves.  Here  the  excess  water  evaporates  through  the 
pores,  and  the  leaves  work  up  the  mineral  salts  and  the 


The  Growth  of  the  Tree  31 

elements  obtained  from  the  air  into  sugar  and  starch  from 
which  the  wood  tissues  are  made.  This  passage  of  the 
water  up  the  stem  in  the  early  spring  is  known  as  the 
"rising  of  the  sap."  Since  this  is  the  only  way  the  tree 
has  of  securing  food,  it  is  absolutely  essential  that  these 
necessary  materials  be  in  soluble  form.  Should  they  be 
present  ever  so  abundantly  in  insoluble  combinations,  or 
poisoned  by  salts  or  acids,  the  tree  would  nevertheless 
starve.  This  often  happens  with  all  kinds  of  plants,  and 
is  well  known  by  most  farmers. 

The  roots  also  fulfill  the  further  purpose  of  holding 
the  tree  upright.  Naturally  the  trees  with  the  long  tap- 
root running  deep  into  the  ground  are  the  firmest,  because 
they  have  the  best  grip  on  the  soil.  Such  trees  are  prac- 
tically never  uprooted,  —  they  break  off  first.  Those 
having  the  mixed  root  systems  are  also  fairly  firm  and  not 
easily  blown  over  unless  they  have  been  grown  in  a  very 
protected  location  and  then  suddenly  deprived  of  their 
protection,  —  for,  as  explained  above,  they  easily  adapt 
themselves  to  conditions  and  would  not  take  a  deep  hold 
on  the  ground  unless  forced  to  it  by  constant  strain.  The 
shallow-rooted  species  have  a  still  weaker  hold,  and  are 
easily  upset  even  when  most  carefully  trained  to  with- 
stand the  wind.  The  roots  are  much  quicker  to  respond 
to  the  necessity  of  giving  stronger  mechanical  support 
than  to  the  exigencies  of  a  new  moisture  or  soil  condition. 

The  stem,  trunk  or  bole.  —  The  trunk  of  the  tree  an- 
swers the  double  purpose  of  transporting  the  water  supplied 
by  the  roots,  and  supporting  the  crown;  its  branches 
spread  the  leaves  to  the  light. 

If  a  cross-section  of  the  stem  is  studied,  its  structure 


32  The  Farm  Woodlot 

may  be  quite  plainly  seen.  In  the  center  is  a  small  spot  of 
pith  varying  from  a  mere  pin  point  in  the  pine  to  a  half 
inch  in  diameter  in  some  of  the  sumacs  and  elders.  This 
was  the  original  live  tissue  from  which  the  rest  has  grown. 
Surrounding  it  are  a  number  of  concentric  rings,  very 
distinct  in  the  oak,  almost  invisible  in  the  black  gum. 
Each  ring  represents  the  growth  of  a  year.  The  inner 
portion  of  the  ring  is  usually  of  a  lighter  color  and  softer 
texture.  This  is  the  spring  wood.  It  is  formed  in  the 
spring  when  the  tree  is  living  on  the  food  stored  over  from 
the  preceding  season,  and  the  walls  of  the  cells,  of  which  all 
wood  is  composed,  are  very  thin.  The  wood  of  deciduous 
trees,  the  hardwoods,  is  usually  full  of  little  holes,  the 
cross-sections  of  hollow  cells ;  in  the  conifers,  or  softwoods, 
the  holes  are  so  small  that  they  cannot  be  seen  with  the 
naked  eye.  The  outer  portion  of  the  ring  is  of  darker 
color  and  harder  tissue.  This  is  the  growth  of  the  summer 
or  autumn,  when  the  leaves  are  furnishing  an  abundance 
of  food,  and  the  cell  walls  are  very  thick.  The  contrast 
is  very  much  stronger  in  some  woods  than  in  others. 
In  the  tropical  forests,  the  trees  either  do  not  show  these 
rings  at  all,  or,  when  present,  they  do  not  represent  years 
of  growth.  There  the  growth  is  continuous  throughout 
the  year,  except  when  interrupted  by  drought ;  there  is  no 
cold  weather  to  bring  about  a  rest  period.  Consequently 
rings,  when  present,  represent  periods  of  drought  instead 
of  years,  and  the  age  of  the  trees  cannot  be  ascertained 
definitely  in  this  way.  If  the  trunk  examined  is  an  oak, 
there  will  be  evident  streaks  of  white  wood  radiating  from 
the  central  pith,  like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel,  only  in  broken 
lines.  These  are  called  the  pith  rays  or  medullary  rays. 


The  Growth  of  the  Tree  33 

They  are  lines  of  living  tissue  running  at  right  angles  to 
the  other  fibers  and  furnish  a  storehouse  for  the  surplus 
food  saved  over  from  one  season  to  another.  It  is  the 
splitting  of  these  rays  that  makes  the  silver  grain  in  quarter- 
sawed  oak ;  they  are  also  important  as  the  starting  point 
for  checks  in  seasoned  lumber.  They  are  present  in  all 
woods  but  are  so  small  in  many  species  that  they  cannot 
be  perceived  without  the  use  of  a  microscope.  A  further 
variation  may  be  noted  in  the  appearance  of  the  cross- 
section.  The  outer  portion,  varying  with  the  species, 
from  three  to  fifty  rings  in  width,  is  of  a  lighter  color  than 
the  inner  portion.  This  is  called  the  sapwood.  It  is 
through  this  porton  of  the  stem  that  most  of  the  water,  or 
sap,  passes.  Girdle  this  and  the  food  supply  of  the  tree 
is  cut  off. 

When  the  tree  is  young,  all  the  wood  is  sapwood.  At 
varying  ages  in  the  different  species,  by  some  process  as 
yet  not  thoroughly  understood,  this  sapwood  undergoes  a 
change.  It  ceases  to  conduct  the  sap,  and  is  strengthened 
by  certain  injections  that  harden  and  mature  it  and 
darken  the  color.  The  change  is  both  chemical  and  physi- 
cal. It  is  then  known  as  heartwood,  and  practically 
ceases  to  play  any  active  part  in  the  life  of  the  tree,  save 
as  a  mechanical  support  for  the  crown.  The  change 
from  sapwood  to  heartwood  does  not  take  place  at  any 
particular  age.  The  sapwood  may  extend  through  twenty 
rings  on  one  side  of  the  tree  and  only  half  a  dozen  on  the 
other ;  the  line  separating  the  two  is  very  irregular. 

Surrounding  the  stem  is  a  layer  of  bark.  It  varies  in 
thickness  from  a  sixteenth  of  an  inch  in  the  paper  birch  to 
six  inches  in  the  big  trees  of  California,  but  is  always  pres- 


34  The  Farm  Woodlot 

ent.  Its  purpose  is  to  protect  the  growing  tissue.  There 
is  always  a  soft,  pulpy  inner  bark  and  a  woody  or  corky 
outer  bark.  The  various  forms  that  it  may  take  are  as 
numerous  as  the  species  of  trees,  and  in  many  cases  as 
distinctive.  A  close  examination  shows  that  the  bark 
is  divided  into  annual  rings,  and  were  it  not  for  the  fact 
that  the  hard  outer  bark  cracks  and  scales  off  from  time  to 
time,  the  age  could  be  told  from  the  bark  as  well  as  from 
the  wood.  This  bark  covers  the  entire  tree,  stem,  roots 
and  branches. 

As  yet  we  have  not  discovered  the  source  of  growth,  and 
unless  we  know  what  to  look  for,  may  not  find  it  at  all.  It 
is  most  easily  seen  in  the  spring.  Between  the  bark  and 
the  wood  is  a  very  thin  layer  of  mucilaginous  living  tissue. 
During  the  growing  season  this  tissue  grows  in  two  direc- 
tions, outward  to  form  the  bark  and  inward  to  form  wood. 
It  is  by  means  of  this  tissue  that  all  diameter  growth 
takes  place.  This  is  called  the  cambium  and  like  the  bark 
envelops  the  whole  tree.  Where  this  layer  is  taken  off, 
diameter  growth  ceases. 

The  buds  are  arranged  on  the  branches  in  regular  order 
at  the  base  of  the  leaf  stems.  They  are  formed  in  the 
autumn,  when  the  tree  is  maturing  its  season's  growth,  for 
the  winter  protection  of  the  tender  growing  points.  The 
buds  at  the  ends  of  the  branches  are  called  "  ter- 
minal "  buds,  those  along  the  branches,  "  lateral"  buds. 
These  buds  are  of  two  kinds :  flower  buds,  which  will 
produce  the  flowers  in  the  spring;  and  leaf  buds.  The 
flower  buds  are  often  to  be  distinguished  by  their  larger 
size.  They  are  more  easily  damaged  by  frost  than  the 
leaf  buds. 


The  Growth  of  the  Tree  35 

The  flower  is  that  part  of  the  plant  which  produces  the 
fruit.  Many  persons  do  not  know  that  trees  produce 
flowers  and  fruits.  They  confine  the  term  flower  to  the 
ornamental  blossoms  of  certain  garden  plants,  and  the 
term  fruit  to  such  things  as  apples  and  oranges.  Never- 
theless, every  plant  of  the  higher  orders  puts  forth  flowers. 
In  the  trees,  most  of  the  flowers  are  very  inconspicuous. 
There  are  three  different  arrangements  for  the  tree  flowers. 
In  some  species,  such  as  the  cherry  and  the  mountain  ash, 
the  flowers  are  perfect,  that  is  both  sexes  are  represented 
in  the  same  flower.  The  second  class,  the  elm,  oaks 
and  pines  among  them,  have  the  different  sexes  in  different 
flowers  on  the  same  tree.  The  third  class  have  the  differ- 
ent sexes  on  different  trees,  the  cottonwoods  and  willows 
being  of  this  class.  This  is  the  reason  why  some  cotton- 
woods  spread  the  objectionable  cotton  over  everything 
and  others  do  not ;  why  some  holly  has  red  berries, 
others  none. 

Fruit.  —  Every  tree  which  produces  pistillate  flowers 
bears  fruit.  We  use  the  term  carelessly  and  frequently 
confuse  the  fruit  and  the  seed.  The  fruit  is  the  seed,  - 
one  or  more  in  number,  —  together  with  the  seed  covering, 
whether  it  be  a  hairy  catkin,  a  fleshy  drupe  or  a  dry 
samara.  The  flower  is  the  generative  organ  that  produces 
the  fruit,  and  this  fruit  contains  the  seed  that  produces 
the  small  tree. 

The  fruit  is  important  in  this  discussion  only  because 
it  produces  the  seed.  These  seeds  are  of  almost  innumer- 
able shapes  and  sizes  ;  the  important  ones  will  be  described 
later  on.  The  means  by  which  the  seeds  are  distributed 
is  the  only  point  that  must  be  taken  up  here.  Among  the 


36  The  Farm  Woodlot 

species  with  which  we  are  interested  at  present,  there 
are  only  two  means  of  distribution  :  the  wind  and  the  birds. 
The  fleshy  fruits,  such  as  cherries,  hackberries,  red  cedar 
berries,  and  the  like,  are  eaten  by  the  birds  and  dropped, 
often  far  from  the  tree  on  which  they  grew.  The  heavy 
nuts  can  only  roll  or  be  carried  short  distances  by  squirrels. 
All  the  others  are  supplied  with  some  means  to  facilitate 
wind  transportation,  as  tufts  of  hair,  wings,  leaf  attach- 
ments, and  the  like. 

LIFE    HISTORY    OF    A    TREE 

With  the  above  description  of  the  tree  and  its  parts  in 
mind,  it  will  be  easy  to  follow  out  a  brief  sketch  of  its 
life  history.  When  the  seed  is  first  placed  in  the  ground, 
it  begins  to  absorb  moisture.  This  softens  the  outer 
coating  of  the  seed  and  causes  the  fleshy  portion  within 
to  swell.  Moisture  and  warmth  start  the  growth  in  the 
embryo  of  the  seed,  —  the  real  germ  of  life.  The  covering 
splits,  the  primary  leaves  or  cotyledons  appear  above  the 
ground  and  the  root  grows  downward.  The  plant  at 
this  stage  feeds  on  the  fleshy  part  of  the  seed,  the  endo- 
sperm. At  this  stage  it  is  almost  impossible  for  any  one 
but  an  expert  to  distinguish  the  different  species,  since 
the  cotyledons  do  not,  in  many  species,  in  the  least 
resemble  the  mature  leaves.  The  arbor vitae  and  the  pine, 
for  example,  are  hardly  distinguishable  the  first  season. 

The  plant  is  established  on  an  independent  growing 
basis  if  the  root  strikes  readily  into  mineral  soil,  but  if, 
through  any  difficulty  the  endosperm  is  exhausted  before 
the  root  takes  hold,  the  seedling  shrivels  and  dies.  The 
different  species  vary  greatly  in  their  habits  of  growth  in 


The  Growth  of  the  Tree  37 

the  early  seedling  stage.  Some,  like  the  nut  trees,  devote 
most  of  their  energies  to  establish  their  root  systems.  The 
tap-root  of  a  one-year-old  hickory  is  often  as  long  as,  or 
longer  than,  the  stem.  Others,  like  the  cot  ton  woods  and 
willows,  make  a  rapid  height  growth  with  a  comparatively 
small  root  system.  The  hardwoods,  as  a  rule,  make  much 
more  rapid  growth  for  the  first  few  years  than  the  soft- 
woods. Most  of  them  put  forth  mature  leaves  and  grow 
a  foot  or  more  in  height  the  first  year.  Most  of  the  soft- 
woods or  conifers  retain  their  cotyledons  through  the 
first  season  and  do  not  put  forth  any  real  leaves.  They 
rarely  attain  a  height  of  over  three  inches  the  first  year, 
and  many  of  them  not  more  than  two.  They  are  so  small 
that  they  are  usually  overlooked  in  the  woods  unless  one 
is  familiar  with  their  appearance.  All  this  growth  of  the 
first  season  comes  from  the  central  pith.  The  cambium 
is  formed  as  the  diameter  growth  continues.  As  autumn 
approaches,  growth  ceases,  the  wood  is  matured  and  the 
buds  are  formed  to  protect  the  growing  points,  —  arranged 
in  regular  order  along  the  stem  of  the  hardwoods,  in  a 
whorl  at  the  top  of  the  coniferous  stem.  The  leaves  of  the 
hardwoods  fall  and  the  little  trees  are  ready  for  the  winter. 
In  the  winter  season,  the  hardwoods,  as  far  as  we 
know,  take  an  absolute  rest,  although  there  may  be  more 
or  less  movement  of  fluids.  Everything  is  prepared  for 
the  cold  weather  and  the  leaves  are  gone.  The  ever- 
greens are  as  well  prepared  as  the  hardwoods,  save  that 
they  do  not  drop  their  leaves.  This  is  sometimes  detri- 
mental and  even  fatal  in  some  open  winters  on  the  open 
prairies.  The  sweep  of  a  south  wind  forces  evaporation 
from  the  leaves  when  the  ground  is  still  frozen  hard.  In 


38  The  Farm  Woodlot 

this  way,  the  tree  is  robbed  of  its  normal  amount  of  mois- 
ture, and  the  leaves  and  twigs  become  shriveled,  some- 
times so  severely  that  they  cannot  recover.  The  warmth 
of  spring  starts  growth  in  the  plant  once  more.  The  sap 
rises  in  the  trees,  the  buds  open,  the  leaves  and  flowers 
come  out,  and  the  live  tissue,  that  completely  covers  the 
tree,  stem  and  branches  in  an  unbroken  layer,  begins 
growth.  During  this  period,  the  tree  feeds  on  the  surplus 
food  stored  away  the  year  before.  The  growth  from  the 
growing  points  in  the  buds  produces  length  of  branch  or 
height  of  stem.  The  cambium  produces  diameter  growth. 
Neither  stem  nor  branch  ever  grows  in  length  except  at 
the  end.  There  is  a  common  belief  that  the  fence  wire 
nailed  on  the  trunk  of  a  tree  will  rise  as  the  tree  grows. 
This  is  not  true.  The  trunk  grows  only  in  diameter. 
This  spring  growth  is  producing  the  thin-walled  layer 
of  cells  found  in  the  inner  part  of  the  ring  in  the  cross- 
section.  When  the  leaves  come  out  and  the  work  of 
manufacturing  food  begins,  the  thick-walled  cells  of  the 
outer  part  are  formed.  Through  the  summer,  more  food 
is  produced  than  can  be  used  for  growth,  and  this  surplus 
is  stored  away  in  the  pith  rays  for  the  growth  of  the  follow- 
ing spring.  This  completes  the  yearly  round  of  life  in 
the  tree.  The  following  years  of  growth  are  the  same  as 
this  second  one. 

At  ages  varying  with  the  species,  flower  buds  are  formed 
and  fruit  produced.  This  occurs  in  some  species,  like 
the  jack  pine,  at  the  age  of  seven  or  eight  years.  Such 
early  fruiting,  however,  is  premature  and  the  seed,  if 
any  is  produced,  rarely  possesses  any  vitality.  This  is 
more  or  less  true  of  the  first  seed  produced  by  any  plant. 


The  Growth  of  the  Tree  39 

By  repeating  this  annual  program,  the  tree  continues 
to  grow  for  an  indefinite  period.  Some  species  are  natu- 
rally shorter-lived  than  others.  The  gray  birch,  for  example, 
rarely  lives  more  than  thirty  or  forty  years,  while  the  big 
trees  of  the  Pacific  Coast  are  some  of  them  three  or  four 
thousand  years  old.  There  does  not  appear  to  be  any 
definite  limit  to  the  age  of  trees,  but  when  growth  becomes 
slow  and  their  vitality  low  they  become  subject  to  the 
attacks  of  insects  and  fungi  that  cause  death  and  destroy 
the  wood  after  they  die. 

The  thrifty  tree  may  be  picked  out  by  its  general  ap- 
pearance and  the  shape  of  its  crown.  So  long  as  growth 
is  rapid  and  healthy,  the  crown  retains  a  conical  shape. 
This  is  true  of  both  conifers  and  hardwoods.  When  the 
tree  has  attained  its  height  and  the  growth  is  less  strong, 
the  crown  broadens  and  flattens  out.  This  flat-topped 
appearance  shows  that  the  tree  has  practically  finished 
its  height  growth  and  is  growing  only  in  diameter  and 
this  only  to  a  slight  extent.  Extremely  old  trees  some- 
times lack  enough  food  for  growth  throughout  the  cam- 
bium and  lay  on  increment  only  in  the  upper  portions. 
This  condition  is  usually  followed  very  shortly  by  death, 
—  a  death,  however,  that  requires  many  years  for  its 
fulfillment. 


CHAPTER  IV 
DENDROLOGY 

THE  study  of  the  kinds  of  trees,  and  of  their  botanical 
characteristics,  is  dendrology.  The  study  of  the  cultiva- 
tion or  growing  of  trees  in  forest  plantations  is  sylviculture. 

A  completer  distinction  between  the  two  terms  may  be 
made,  in  order  that  the  reader  may  never  be  confused. 
Sylviculture  means  forest-culture.  It  is  derived  from 
sylva,  meaning  forest,  plus  the  word  culture.  It  deals  with 
forest  crops  as  agriculture  deals  with  farm  crops.  As 
used  in  forestry,  sylviculture  means  the  producing  of 
forest  trees  for  forestry  purposes.  It  includes  the  growing 
of  forest  trees  by  sowing  and  planting,  or  what  is  known 
as  " artificial  regeneration,"  and  the  growing  of  forest 
trees  by  caring  for  established  forests  so  that  the  best  and 
most  useful  trees  are  produced  and  new  trees  spring  up 
naturally,  or  what  is  known  as  " natural  regeneration." 
In  either  case,  nature  is  aided  to  produce  the  best  results 
in  the  shortest  possible  time.  In  its  broadest  sense, 
sylviculture  includes  everything  that  is  connected  with 
the  life  history  of  a  forest.  Nature  alone  is  oftentimes 
slow  and  uncertain,  and  since  the  forester  must  attend  to 
the  economic  side,  it  becomes  necessary  to  render  aid, 
such  as  supplying  seed  and  plants  and  by  furnishing  the 
most  desirable  trees,  which  nature  does  not  always  do, 
and  by  aiding  in  the  production  of  the  best  trees  in  a 
minimum  amount  of  time. 

40 


Dendrology  41 

Sylviculture  is  primarily  an  art  and  as  such  it  is  based  on 
a  science.  This  science  is  Sylvics.  Sylvics  is  the  knowledge 
of  the  sylvicultural  characteristics  of  forest  trees.  It  treats 
of  the  life  history  of  forest  trees  as  individual  species,  or 
of  a  tree,  while  sylviculture  deals  with  a  collection  of  trees 
or  with  a  forest.  Before  sylviculture  can  be  practiced 
with  any  intelligence,  a  knowledge  of  the  requirements  of 
each  species  of  tree,  such  as  soil,  moisture,  climate,  and 
the  like,  must  be  secured,  and  upon  this  sylviculture  must 
be  based.  Sylvics  begins  with  a  knowledge  of  the  number 
and  kinds  of  our  forest  trees  and  their  ready  identification 
as  to  genus  and  species  wherever  found.  This  has  to  do 
with  the  simple  botany  of  trees,  their  botanical  character- 
istics, similarities  and  differences,  and  is  called  Dendrology, 
from  dendron,  meaning  tree.  Sylviculture  should  then, 
properly,  begin  with  a  study  of  the  tree  flora  (as  in  Chapter 
IV)  and  be  followed  (as  in  Chapter  V)  with  a  discussion 
of  sylviculture. 

The  scope  of  dendrology  is  large  and  includes  much 
that  must  be  omitted  here.  The  present  treatment, 
however,  will  include  a  study  of  sufficient  distinguishing 
characteristics  of  our  common  trees  to  enable  any  student 
to  identify  such  as  come  to  his  attention. 

Our  trees  fall  very  naturally  into  two  great  groups :  — 
Conifers,  —  meaning  cone-bearing  trees,  such  as  the  pines 
and  spruces.      (Nearly  all  our  conifers  have  needle- 
shaped  leaves,  and  with  the  exception  of  the  larches 
all  our  northern  conifers  are  evergreen.) 
Broadleaf  trees,  —  meaning  trees  with  broad  leaves,  such 
as  the  elms  and  oaks.     (All  our  northern  broadleaf 
trees  have  deciduous  foliage,  i.e.  the  leaves  fall  from 


42  The  Farm  Woodlot 

the  trees  every  autumn  and  new  leaves  appear 
in  the  following  spring.  The  term  hardwoods  is 
often  used  instead  of  broadleaf  trees.) 

THE    CONIFERS 

The  cone-bearing  trees  are  of  first  importance  in  any 
scheme  or  practice  of  forestry.  Pine,  hemlock,  fir,  spruce, 
redwood  and  cypress  timber  provide  the  greater  part 
of  framework  and  finishing  material  in  wood  construction. 

Key  to  the  Common  Conifers 

I.    Fruit  a  woody  cone  made  up  of  overlapping  cone-scales : 

seeds  winged,  two  from  each  fertile  scale. 
A.  Leaves  needle-shaped,  single  or  in  clusters. 

1.  Arrangement  of  leaves  from  2  to  5  in  a  cluster, 

usually  over  2  inches  long,  evergreen  (or 
persistent).  The  pines. 

2.  Arrangement  of    leaves,  in   brush-like   clusters, 

many  not   evergreen  (deciduous). 

The  larches. 

3.  Arrangement  of  leaves  single,    short,    scattered 

over  the  twigs. 

a.  The  leaves   standing  on   short   stalks  and 

spreading  out  in  all  directions  from  the 
twig  :  twigs  rough  after  leaves  fall. 

The  spruces. 

b.  The  leaves  not  stalked,  and  appear  to  be 

arranged  in  two  ranks :  resin  blisters  in 
bark    of    trunk:     cones    large,    upright, 

scales  falling  with  the  seed. 

The  firs. 

c.  The  leaves  on  short  stalks,  and  appear  to 

be  in  two  ranks  :  no  resin  blisters  in  bark : 
cones  small,  pendant  or  pointing  outward. 

The  hemlock. 


Dendrology 


43 


B.  Leaves  scale-like, 
very  small  and 
closely  pressed  to 
the  twig;  Branches 
flattened:  cones 
very  small  with 
scales  opposite  and 
in  pairs. 

The  white  cedar. 

II.  Fruit  a  small,  fleshy, 
blue  berry :  leaves 
scale-like,  also  awl- 
shaped:  branches 
not  flattened. 

The  red  cedar. 


The  pines.    Figs.  3,  4 

The  pines  are  very 
ancient  trees,  having 
evergreen  needle- 
shaped  leaves  and 
bearing  their  seed  in 
cones.  They  are 
amongst  the  foremost 
lumber  trees  in  this 
country.  They  pro- 
duce hard  and  soft 
wood  marked  by  light 
and  dark  bands  of 
wood  in  which  there 
is  much  resin.  Great  FlG  3._  Mature  white  pine.  — A  good 
pine  forests  once  oc-  seed  tree. 


44 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


curred  in  the 
Lake  States  and 
in  the  East  and 
South,  but  the 
lumberman  has 
destroyed  prac- 
tically all  of 
them.  The  great 
pine  areas  have 
been  so  com- 
pletely cut  over 
and  burned  that 
most  of  our  pine 
land  does  not 
now  produce 
pine,  but  instead 
worthless  brush 
and  small  un- 
important trees. 
The  pines  do 
not  sprout  as 
do  hardwoods. 
Trees  under 
twenty  years  of 
age  rarely  bear 
good  seed  and 
when  all  others 
are  cut,  there  is 
no  chance  for 
new  pine  trees 


FIG.  4.  —  Mature  Norway  pine.  —  Pinus  resinosa.     to  grow. 


Dendrology 
THE  KINDS  OF  PINES 


45 


NAME 

LEAVES 

CONES 

BARK 

SIZE 

Pinus 
Strobus 
White  pine 

5  in  a  cluster, 
blue-green  and 
soft,  3-5  in. 
long 

4-8      in.      long, 
scales  thin  and 
without  spines 

Gray,     deeply 
furrowed 
and      thick, 
smooth     on 
young  trees 

80-125       ft. 
high,  2-4  ft. 
in  diameter 

Pinus 
resinosa 
Red  pine 

2  in  a  cluster, 
5-6  in.  long 
and  dark  green 

2-3  in.  long,  egg- 
shaped,     with 
small  spines 

Light       red 
brown        or 
cinnamon 
red,  in 
broad  plates 

50-90  ft.  high 
1-3  ft.  di- 
ameter 

Pinus 
rigida 
Pitch  pine 

3    in    a    cluster, 
yellow-green, 
3-5    in.    long, 
stiff 

1-3      in.      long, 
egg-shaped, 
with         small 
sharp      spines 
on  scales 

Reddish  brown 
scaly,        or 
broken      by 
irregular 
furrows 

30-70  ft.  high, 
1-2  ft.  di- 
ameter 

Pinus 
divaricata 
Jack  pine 

2    in    a    cluster, 
1-2    in.    long, 
thick,  twisted, 
.    sharp  pointed 

2-4      in.      long, 
smooth, 
strongly 
curved,   'per- 
sistent     for 
years 

Dark        gray, 
scaly,  rough 
and     rather 
thin 

40-90  ft.  high, 
1-2  ft.  di- 
ameter 

Pinus 
ponderosa 
Bull  pine 

2    and    3    in    a 
cluster,     3-15 
in.    long,    yel- 
low-green, 
shiny 

3-6      in.      long, 
hard,      with 
sharp     curved 
points  on  end 
of  scales 

Cinnamon  red 
to      black, 
divided  into 
large   plates 

60-200  ft.  high, 
3-8   ft.    di- 
ameter 

Pinus  syl- 
vestris 
Scotch  pine 

2  in  a  cluster, 
1  to  2  in.  long, 
twisted  and 
sharp  pointed, 
blue-green 

1  to  2|  in.  long, 
small    de- 
ciduous spine, 
single  and 
clustered 

Reddish    gray 
and  scaly 

20  to  50  ft. 
high,  10  to  15 
in.  diameter 

Our  pines  are  known  by  such  names  as  "hard  pines/' 
"soft  pines,"  "yellow  pines,"  "  white  pines,"  "pitch  pines," 
all  of  which  are  given  them  by  the  lumberman  and  the 
carpenter,  depending  on  the  amount  of  pitch  any  piece 


46  The  Farm  Woodlot 

may  contain  or  whether  it  is  hard  or  soft  and  whether 
the  color  is  white  or  yellowish.  These  names  are  confusing 
and  uncertain.  A  standard  common  name  should  always 
be  used  in  speaking  of  any  of  these  trees  so  that  others 
may  know  what  kind  of  pine  is  meant. 

The  Scotch  pine  and  Austrian  pine  are  not  native  to  this 
country,  but  have  been  introduced  from  Europe.  They 
are  valuable  trees  for  planting  in  certain  places  and  are 
used  particularly  in  farm  plantations. 

The  larches 

The  larches  are  distinguished  from  the  pines  chiefly 
by  their  leaves.  In  summer  the  foliage  is  very  different, 
and  in  the  winter  the  larches  are  without  leaves  as  are 
the  oaks  and  elms.  Of  the  three  larches  occurring  natu- 
rally in  the  United  States  but  one  is  found  in  the  eastern 
half.  This  one  is  the  common  tamarack  of  the  north 
woods  and  chiefly  of  the  swamps.  The  European  larch 
is  a  species  introduced  from  Europe  and  is  a  better  and 
larger  tree  than  our  native  tamarack.  It  is  used  for 
ornamental  planting  and,  to  considerable  extent,  for  farm 
planting.  It  is  a  valuable  tree  for  the  farm  woodlot 
as  it  is  a  rapid  grower  and  produces  very  excellent  wood. 

The  wood  of  the  larch  is  hard,  durable  in  the  soil  and 
is  resinous.  Our  native  larch  is  distinctly  a  swamp 
tree  of  the  northern  states  and  Canada,  and  in  most  of 
the  tamarack  swamps  it  does  not  attain  very  large  size, 
usually  forming  excellent  pole  and  post  wood. 

The  larches  do  not  sprout,  and  new  trees  must  always 
be  grown  from  seed. 


Dendrology 


47 


THE  KINDS  OP  LARCHES 


NAME 

LEAVES 

CONES 

BARK 

SIZE 

Larix 
laricina 
Tamarack 

In         brush-like 
tufts,      about 
1      in.      long, 
bright    green, 
turning  yellow 
in  autumn 
when  they  fall 

Small,       light 
brown,     f    in. 
long,  globular 

Thin,  reddish 
and  in  small 
scales 

50  to  60  ft. 
high,  18  to 
20  in.  in  di- 
ameter 

Larix 
europsea 
European 
larch 

In  brush-like 
tufts  f  to  1 
and  1  in.  long, 
bright  green, 
falling  each 
autumn 

From  f  to  1|  in. 
long,  much 
larger      than 
the  above 

Dark    grayish 
brown     and 
in      small 
scales 

About  100  ft. 
high,  and 
from  1  to  2 
ft.  in  diam- 
eter 

The  spruces.     Fig.  5 

There  are  seven  native  spruces  in  the  United  States, 
three  of  which  occur  in  the  East.  Of  these  three,  the  red 
spruce  is  the  most  important.  White  spruce  is  next  in 
value  and  the  black  spruce  of  least  value.  The  Norway 
spruce  is  a  native  of  Europe  and  has  been  introduced  into 
this  country  largely  as  an  ornamental  tree.  It  is  a  rapid- 
growing  and  comparatively  short-lived  tree.  The  conical 
crown  with  its  beautiful  drooping  branches  becomes  open 
and  ragged  after  about  thirty  years.  The  spruces  are 
important  timber  trees.  The  soft,  light- colored  straight- 
grained  wood  has  many  very  important  uses.  The  red 
spruce  furnishes  the  best  wood  for  sounding-boards  used 
for  all  kinds  of  musical  instruments,  and  the  white  spruce 
supplies  the  best  material  for  wood  pulp  from  which 
paper  is  made.  The  spruces  are  readily  distinguished 
from  the  other  cone-bearing  trees,  chiefly  by  their  leaves. 


48 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


FIG.   5.  —  Three  spruces.    White  spruce  twig   (Picea  canadensis). 
Norway  spruce  cone  on  left.    Cone  of  white  spruce  on  right. 


Dendrology 


49 


The  leaves  are  single  and  are  arranged  on  all  sides  of  the 
branch.     They  are  short,  stiff,  and  usually  sharp  pointed. 

THE  KINDS  OF  SPRUCES 


NAME 

LEAVES 

CONES 

BARK 

SIZE 

Picea 
canadensis 
White  spruce 

Blue-green  or 
pale  blue,  J 
to  f  in.  long 

On   short   stems 
2      in.      long, 
slender    and 
pale  green 

Gray-brown, 
breaking 
into      thin 
scales 

60  to  100  ft. 
high,  1  ft. 
to  20  in. 
in  diameter 

Picea 
rubens 
Red  spruce 

Dark  yellow- 
green,  very 
glossy,  about 
£  in.  long 

Stalked,    1J     to 
2  in.  long, 
greenish 
purple 

Thin,   red- 
brown, 
scaly 

50  to  80  ft. 
high,  1  to  3 
ft.  diameter 

Picea 
mariana 
Black  spruce 

Blue-green  not 
glossy,  5  in. 
long,  stiff 

|  to  1   in.  long, 
ovate,     gray- 
brown,       per- 
sistent     for 
many  years 

Gray-brown, 
scaly,  thin 

20  to  60  ft. 
high,  6  to  18 
in.  diameter 

Picea 
excelsa 

Norway 
spruce 

Dark-green, 
usually    shin- 
ing, $  to  1  in. 
long,  pointed 

4  to  7  in.  long, 
light  brown 

Thin,  reddish 
brown 

50  to  100  ft. 
high,  1  to  2 
ft.  in  di- 
ameter 

The  firs 

Of  the  nine  firs  in  the  United  States,  two  occur  in  the 
eastern  part ;  one  of  these,  the  balsam  fir  or  more  commonly 
known  as  the  balsam,  is  northern.  This  tree  is  readily 
recognized  from  the  nature  of  its  cones  and  the  resin 
blisters  in  the  bark.  The  firs  do  not  have  resin  in  the 
wood  as  do  the  pines  and  spruces.  This  resin  or  balsam 
that  occurs  in  the  bark  is  collected,  and  furnishes  the 
Canada  balsam  of  commerce.  The  cones  stand  upright, 
and  when  mature  they  fall  to  pieces,  leaving  nothing  on 


50 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


the  tree  except  the  slender  axis  to  which  the  cone  scales 
were  attached.  The  wood  is  light,  soft,  not  strong, 
coarse-grained,  brownish  yellow  in  color  and  is  very 
perishable  in  the  soil.  It  furnishes  poor  lumber  and  is 
largely  used  for  fuel;  also  for  poor-grade  lumber  used 
largely  for  making  packing  boxes.  The  firs  are  used  to 
some  extent  for  ornamental  planting  about  farmhouses, 
and  the  average  northern  woodlot  usually  has  some 
balsam  firs  scattered  among  the  other  trees. 

THE  COMMON  FIR 


NAME 

LEAVES 

CONES 

BARK 

SIZE 

Abies 

1  to  1$  in. 

Upright       on 

\     in.     thick, 

•40    to    60    ft. 

balsamea 

long,     dark 

branch,     dark 

rich  brown, 

high,    12    to 

Balsam  fir 

green     above, 

rich  purple,  2 

scaly,    with 

20    in.    di- 

white    under- 

to 4  in.  long 

numerous 

ameter 

neath 

resin  blisters 

The  hemlock 

Of  the  four  hemlocks  in  the  United  States,  two  are 
eastern  and  two  are  western.  Of  the  eastern  species, 
Tsuga  canadensis  is  found  usually  among  the  trees  of  the 
woodlot  or  farm  forest  throughout  the  northern  states 
from  Minnesota  eastward.  The  hemlocks  are  large  trees 
with  many  limbs  and  a  rough,  reddish  bark.  The  leaves 
are  arranged  on  opposite  sides  of  the  branches  and  are 
short  and  shiny  above  and  light  colored  beneath.  The 
cones  are  very  small  for  such  a  large  tree  and  occur  on 
the  ends  of  the  branches.  The  wood  is  brittle,  coarse- 
grained, stiff  and  splintery  and  hard  to  work.  It  decays 
very  quickly  when  used  in  moist  places.  The  bark  is 


Dendrology 


51 


very  rich  in  tannin  and  is  usually  more  valuable  than  the 

wood. 

THE  COMMON  HEMLOCK 


NAME 

LEAVES 

CONES 

BARK 

SIZE 

Tsuga 

Green       above, 

f  in.  long,  light 

Cinnamon  red 

40    to    70    ft. 

canadensis 

white     under- 

brown,    on 

or     dark 

high,  2  to  4 

Hemlock 

neath,     about 

ends      of 

gray,  deeply 

ft.  diameter 

\  in.  long 

branches  • 

furrowed 

and  rough 

The  white  cedar 

The  white  cedar  is  frequently  called  arborvitae.  There 
are  only  two  species  in  the  United  States,  one  eastern  and 
the  other  western.  The  eastern  species  is  a  tree  of  the 
northern  swamp  regions,  and  along  streams.  The  white 
cedar  is  often  cultivated  and  is  very  valuable  for  decorative 
planting.  It  forms  an  excellent  hedge.  Almost  every 
northern  farm  forest  has  white  cedar  scattered  in  the  wet 
places.  The  wood  is  light,  soft,  rather  brittle  and  coarse- 
grained, pale  yellow-brown  and  very  aromatic.  It  is 
very  durable  in  the  soil  and  is  an  excellent  wood  for  fence 
posts,  telephone  poles,  shingles,  and  so  on. 

THE  COMMON  WHITE  CEDAR 


NAME    . 

LEAVES 

CONES 

BARK 

SIZE 

Thuya 

Scale-like,    i  in. 

\  to   $  in.   long, 

Thin,  light 

40    to    60    ft. 

occiden- 

long      with 

brownish   yel- 

red   brown, 

high,  1   to  3 

talis 

resin  gland 

low      when 

shedding  in 

ft.  diameter 

White  cedar 

mature 

vertical 

strips 

52 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


The  red  cedar 

The  red  cedar  is  often  called  the  red  juniper.  There 
are  about  eleven  species  of  junipers  in  the  United  States, 
but  only  one  that  grows  to  tree  size  in  northeastern  America. 
The  red  cedar  is  a  tree  of  dry  and  gravelly  places  and  is 
found  mostly  along  fences  and  in  old  abandoned  fields. 
It  grows  abundantly  on  the  steep  dry  ridges  along  rivers 
and  small  streams.  The  red  cedar  is  readily  separated 
from  the  other  conifers  by  its  fruit,  which  is  a  cone  changed 
to  a  small  blue  berry.  These  berries  are  usually  found  on 
the  trees  at  all  times  of  the  year.  The  wood  is  light, 
fine-grained,  weak,  easily  worked  and  very  durable  in  the 
soil.  Cedar  oil  is  distilled  from  the  wood,  and  the  shavings 
of  the  wood  are  used  to  preserve  woolens  against  moths. 
The  fragrant  wood  is  used  for  many  special  purposes, 
as  in  making  pencils  and  pen  holders.  As  a  post  material 
about  the  farm,  the  red  cedar  is  of  great  value. 

THE  COMMON  RED  CEDAR 


NAME 

LEAVES 

CONES 

BARK 

SIZE 

Juniperus 

Scale-like       and 

i    in.    in    diam- 

Thin,     light 

20    to    50    ft. 

virginiana 

awl-shaped, 

eter,     appear- 

brown 

high,  8  to  18 

Red  cedar 

dark      blue- 

ing  as  a  blue- 

tinged    with 

in.  diameter 

green 

green  berry 

red,     sheds 

in  strips 

THE    BROADLEAF    TREES 


The  trees  with  broad  leaves  are  widely  different  in 
kind  and  the  number  of  species  is  very  large.  They 
comprise  the  common  hardwoods  and  softwoods. 


Dendrology  53 

Key  to  the  Genera  of  the  Common  Broadleaf  Trees x 

I.   Branches,  leaves  and  buds  opposite. 

A.  Leaves  simple  with  large  lobes:    seeds  in  pairs  and 

winged :  buds  mostly  round 
and  red.  The  maples. 

B.  Leaves  compound,  without  lobes  but  toothed :    seeds 

single  and  winged :  buds  pointed 
and  dark  brown  or  black. 

The  ashes. 

II.   Branches,  leaves  and  buds  alternate. 
A.  The  leaves  simple. 

1.  Leaves  with  large  lobes:    fruit  an  acorn:    buds 

scaly  and  clustered  on  ends  of 
twigs.  The  oaks. 

2.  Leaves  not  lobed  but  toothed  on  edges. 

a.  Seeds  in  a  burr. 

1 .  Burr  large  and  very  spiny :    nut  dark 

brown  and  edible :  bark  fur- 
rowed vertically. 

The  chestnut. 

2.  Burr  small  with  short  blunt  spines  :  nut 

three-sided,    light    brown    and 

edible  :   bark  gray  and  smooth. 

The  beech. 

b.  Seeds  not  in  a  burr. 

1.  The    seeds    disc-shaped  and   papery, 

ripening  as  new  leaves  appear  : 
branches  very  fine  and  often 
zig-zag :  tree  vase-shaped. 

The  elms. 

2.  The  seeds  very  small,  attached  to  tufts 

of  cotton. 

a.  Buds  usually  large,  covered  with 
many  scales :  bark  usually 
smooth  and  light  colored. 

The  poplars. 

1  This  key  includes  only  the  common  and  useful  trees  of  the  farm  woodlot. 


54  The  Farm  Woodlot 

b.  Buds    small,   covered   with   one 
hood-like    scale :    silky   under- 
neath scale  :  bark  dark  colored. 
The  willows. 

3.  The  seeds  in  a  small  woody  cone  :  buds 

with  many  scales  :  bark  smooth, 
with  horizontal  markings,  roll- 
ing back  horizontally  in  thick 
or  thin  layers.  The  birches. 

4.  The  seeds  in  a  growth  resembling  a 

hop  with  many  seeds  each  in  a 
papery  sac :  bark  ashy  gray 
and  scaly :  branches  very  fine 
with  small  scaly  buds. 

The  hornbeam. 
B.  The  leaves  compound. 

1.  Fruit   a   large   nut  with  a  rough   shell  and  an 

entire  husk:  pith  in  twigs 
honeycombed  and  brown :  buds 
gray  and  silky. 

The  walnuts. 

2.  Fruit  a  medium-sized  nut  with  a  smooth  shell 

and  a  divided  husk :  pith  in 
twigs  solid  (not  honeycombed) : 
buds  gray  or  yellow. 

The  hickories. 

3.  Fruit    a  bean-like    pod:    branches    with    small 

brown  spines :  leaves  doubly 
compound:  buds  sunken  into 
the  bark  of  the  twigs  each  be- 
tween a  pair  of  spines. 

The  locust. 

The  maples.    Figs.  6,  7,  8 

The  maples  are  fast-growing  trees  and  are  found  in 
almost  any  woodlot.     They  furnish  high-grade  and  valu- 


Dendrology 


55 


FIG.  6.  —  Silver  or  soft  maple  (Acer  saccharinum) . 


56  The  Farm  Woodlot 

able  wood  and  have  a  dense-foliaged  crown,  making  most 
of  them  valuable  for  decorative  planting.  The  maples 
may  be  recognized  by  their  opposite,  broad,  coarsely  lobed 


FIG.  7. —  Sugar  maple  (Acer  saccharum). 

leaves,  their  winged  seed  growing  in  pairs,  and  their 
opposite  buds  usually  rounded  and  dark  red  in  color.  The 
red  and  silver  maples  produce  their  red  blossoms  before 


Dendrology  57 

the  leaves  are  out  and  their  seed  is  ripe  in  early  summer. 
The  sugar  maple  and  box  elder  bloom  after  the  leaves 


FIG.  8.  —  Box  elder  (Acer  Negundo). 


are  out  and  ripen  their  seed  in  the  fall.  The  sugar  maple 
is  the  most  valuable  species  for  wood  as  well  as  for  its 
good  qualities  as  a  shade  tree.  It  is  an  excellent  fuel 


58 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


wood.  The  red  and  silver  maples  are  very  commonly 
known  as  soft  maples.  They  are  faster  growers  than  the 
sugar  maple  but  do  not  furnish  wood  as  hard  and  valuable. 
They  prefer  moist  soil  and  will  produce  good  fuel  wood  in 
a  comparatively  short  time.  The  box  elder  is  not  generally 
considered  a  maple.  It  is  the  poorest  of  the  four.  It  has 
compound  leaves  resembling  the  ash,  and  for  this  reason 

THE  KINDS  OF  MAPLES 


NAME 

LEAVES 

BUDS 

BARK 

FRUIT 

Acer 

3     to     5    lobes, 

Opposite, 

Brownish    red 

Seed     winged 

rubrum 

doubly 

rounded     and 

on     twigs, 

in  pairs,  ripe 

Red  maple 

toothed, 

red,    clustered 

gray       on 

in     early 

whitish  under- 

flower buds 

trunk    and 

summer 

neath,  simple 

limbs 

Acer 

Lobes  usually  5, 

Very   similar   to 

Greenish     or 

Seed     winged 

sacchari- 

long  and  nar- 

above but  less 

yellowish 

and     larger 

num 

row,    toothed, 

red,      slightly 

brown     on 

than  above, 

Silver  maple 

silvery    white 

green   or   yel- 

twigs,   dark 

ripe      in 

underneath 

lowish 

gray       on 

early 

trunk 

summer 

Acer 

5-  and    3-lobed, 

Opposite,     dark 

Grayish  brown 

Seed     winged 

saccharum 

not     toothed, 

brown       or 

on     twigs, 

and  in  pairs, 

Sugar 

pale      fgreen 

black,  sharply 

gray     and 

ripe  in    the 

maple 

underneath, 

pointed 

turning 

fall 

Simple 

black      on 

trunk 

Acer 

Compound,  3-  to 

Opposite,  small, 

Smooth      and 

Seed     winged 

Negundo 

5-pinnate,    re- 

rounded    and 

purplish 

in     pairs, 

Box  elder 

sembling     the 

silky  white 

green      on 

ripe  in  fall, 

leaves   of   the 

twigs,  gray- 

remain    on 

ash 

ish    brown 

tree  all  win- 

on trunk 

ter 

Dendrology 


59 


is  sometimes  called  ash-leaved  maple.     It  has  been  used 
very  extensively  as  a  tree  for  farm  planting,  as  windbreaks 


FIG.  9.  —  White  ash  (Fraxinus  americand). 

and  for  shade.     It  is  fairly  rapid  in  its  growth  and  when 
young  is  quite  a  beautiful  tree.     It   soon   becomes  un- 


60 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


sightly  and  irregular  in  shapes,  inclined  to  be  crooked  and 
defective  unless  given  special  care.  All  the  maples 
sprout  from  the  stump  and  roots. 

The  ashes.    Figs.  9,  10 
THE  KINDS  OF  ASHES 


NAME 

LEAVES 

BUDS 

BARK 

FRUIT 

Fraxinus 

Compound,  7-9- 

Opposite,  brown, 

Grayish  green 

Seed   winged, 

americana 

stalked,     leaf- 

terminal 

and  smooth 

ripe    in    late 

White  ash 

lets    occasion- 

large pointed, 

on     twigs, 

fall,    hangs 

ally  toothed 

lateral 

dark     gray 

on  tree  until 

rounded 

and    brown, 

winter 

finely 

furrowed  on 

trunk 

Fraxinus 

Compound,  7-11 

Opposite,  black, 

Olive-green  on 

Similar    to 

nigra 

leaflets,       not 

terminal 

twigs,    ashy 

white  ash 

Black  ash 

stalked  except 

large  pointed, 

gray     on 

terminal  one 

lateral 

trunk,     fur- 

rounded 

rowed     and 

scaly 

Fraxinus 

Compound,    7-9 

Opposite,  brown, 

Greenish  gray 

Similar     to 

pennsyl- 

leaflets, 

terminal             j      on        twigs, 

white  ash 

vanica 

stalked 

large  pointed, 

downy,  dark 

Red  ash 

lateral 

gray      or 

rounded 

brown    on 

trunk 

Fraxinus 

Compound,    5-9 

Opposite,    rusty 

Greenish  gray 

Similar     to 

lanceolata 

leaflets, 

brown,   blunt, 

on     twigs, 

white  ash 

Green  ash 

stalked 

terminal 

smooth, 

pointed, 

dark     gray- 

lateral 

ish    brown 

rounded 

on     trunk, 

furrowed 

Dendrology 


61 


FIG.  10.  —  A  well-developed  white  ash. 


FIG.  11.— 


The  Farm  Woodlot 

The  ashes  are  among  the 
valuable  trees  of  the  woodlot 
because  of  the  hard,  strong 
and  useful  wood.  The  white 
ash  produces  the  best  wood  of 
^  all  the  species  and  is  the  most 
valuable.  It  is  also  the  most 
abundant.  The  various  species 
of  the  ash  are  not  easily  dis- 
tinguished, since  in  their  gen- 
eral characters  they  are  quite 
similar.  All  the  ashes  have 
opposite  buds  and  have  the 
twigs  flattened  where  the  buds 
occur.  The  green  ash  is  prob- 
ably a  variety  of  the  red  ash, 
but  is  a  better  tree.  It  is 
largely  planted  in  the  prairie 
states  and  is  a  very  valuable 
tree  for  this  purpose.  The 
wood  of  the  ashes  is  mostly 
hard,  strong,  heavy  and  tough, 
and  is  used  largely  in  the  manu- 
facture of  farm  tools  and  im- 
plements. It  is  also  used  for 
making  baskets,  for  interior 
finish  and  in  furniture  making. 
The  ashes  are  not  related  to 
the  common  mountain  ash, 

Forest-grown  white     which     belon^S    ln     the 

oak.  Sorbus  of  the  rose  family. 


Dendrology 


63 


FIG.  12.  —  Open-grown  white  oak. 


64 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


The  oaks.     Figs.  11,  12,  13,  14,  15,  16,  17 

The  oaks  are  among  the  most  common  of  the  woodland 
trees.     They  very  naturally  fall  into  two  distinct  groups, 


FIG.  13.  — White  oak  (Quercus  alba). 

the  white  oaks  and  the  black  oaks.     As  a  rule,  the  white 
oaks  have  finer  grained,  tougher  and  stronger  wood  than 


Dendrology 


65 


the  black  oaks.     For  farm  purposes,  the  white  oaks  are 
preferable.     Both  groups  furnish  good  fuel  wood.     The 


FIG.  14.  —  Burr  oak  on  a  city  lot. 

white  oak,  burr  oak,  and  so  on  belong  to  the  white  oak 
group  and  mature  their  fruit  in  one  summer;    the  red 

F 


66 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


FIG.  15.  —  Burr  oak  (Quercus  macro- 
car  pa). 


oak,  scarlet  oak  and  the 
like  to  the  black  oaks,  and 
mature  their  fruit  in  two 
summers.  The  oaks  pro- 
duce large  quantities  of 
seed.  The  acorns  may  be 
gathered  in  the  fall  and 
planted  at  once  or  kept 
moist  and  cold  over  winter 
and  planted  in  the  spring. 
The  oaks  also  form  excel- 
lent stump  sprouts,  and  a 
good  crop  of  fuel  may  be 
grown  in  this  way.  All 
the  oaks  are  slow  growers. 
The  white  oaks  are  par- 
ticularly slow  and  it  re- 
quires almost  a  lifetime  to 
develop  a  good  tree.  The 
red  oak  is  about  the  fast- 
est grower  of  the  oaks  and 
is  an  excellent  tree  for 
planting.  It  furnishes 
good  fuel  and  supplies 
many  demands  about  the 
farm.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  find  a  natural  woodlot 
without  some  species  of 
oak,  and  frequently  sev- 
eral kinds  are  present  in 
the  same  lot. 


Dendrology 


67 


FIG.  16.  —  Red  oak  (Quercus  rubra). 


68 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


FIG.  17.  —  Scarlet  oak  (Quercus  coccinea). 


The  different  kinds  of  oaks  found  in  the  average 
woodlot  may  readily  be  distinguished  by  consulting  the 
following  contrast :  — 


Dendrology 


69 


1.  Acorns  maturing  in  one  season :    bark  ashy  gray :    lobes  of 

leaves  rounded  :  buds  rounded.  White  oaks. 

2.  Acorns  maturing  in  two  seasons :    bark  almost  black :    lobes 

of  leaves  bristle-tipped  :   buds  pointed.  Black  oaks. 

THE  WHITE  OAKS 


NAME 

LEAVES 

BUDS 

BARK 

FRUIT 

Quercus 

Evenly       lobed, 

Rounded,  scaly, 

Broken       into 

Light      brown, 

alba 

usually  seven- 

grayish  brown 

soft  irregular 

elongated, 

White  oak 

lobed,     bright 

and  scurfy 

flakes,   ashy 

about    |   in. 

green     above, 

gray,  smooth 

long,   in  cup 

whitish  under- 

on branches 

about    \    its 

neath 

length 

Quercus 

Scalloped       and 

Rounded,   scaly, 

Divided     into 

About      1      in 

platanoides 

lobcd,    broad, 

short     and 

broad      flat 

broad       and 

Swamp 

narrowing 

thick,      incon- 

ridges, 

thick,    gray- 

White 

toward  petiole 

spicuous, 

grayish 

ish  brown, 

oak 

scurfy,   green- 

brown      on 

in  cup 

ish     or     dark 

trunk,   dark 

about    £    its 

gray  brown 

gray      and 

length 

scaly      on 

branches 

Quercus 

Not    lobed    but 

Usually  pointed, 

Very  rough 

Light      brown, 

Prinus 

coarsely    scal- 

scaly     and 

and       hard, 

elongated, 

Chestnut 

loped,  oblong, 

smooth, 

deeply    fur- 

an   inch    or 

oak 

yellowish 

brown 

rowed,  dark 

more    in 

green 

gray 

length,    in   a 

thin     cup 

about    J    its 

length 

Quercus 

Upper      portion 

Small,     blunt, 

Gray     brown, 

Variable    in 

macrocarpa 

scalloped, 

and    rough 

scaly    very 

size    £-2    in. 

Burr  oak 

lower    portion 

gray,  usually 

corky     on 

long     with 

deeply    lobed, 

pubescent 

twigs,  with 

very     large 

dark   green. 

prominent 

fringed  cup 

shiny    above, 

corky  ridges 

almost  cov- 

pale under- 

on twigs 

ering  acorn 

neath 

l 

70 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


THE  BLACK  OAKS 


NAME 

LEAVES 

BUDS 

BARK 

FRUIT 

Quercus 

Short    lobes, 

Scaly,     pointed, 

Dark  gray  or 

Large,    reddish 

rubra 

bristle-tipped, 

short    and 

black,  rough 

brown,     1     in. 

Red  oak 

broad,    dark 

broad,  smooth 

and    deeply 

or     more     in 

green  above 

and    reddish 

and  broadly 

length,   cup 

and  yellowish 

brown 

ridged, 

very   shallow 

green  below, 

smooth  on 

and   flat, 

red  in  autumn 

twigs,  no 

about   i   of 

dead  stubs 

acorn    in    cup, 

on  trunk 

one-year-old 

acorns  present 

in  winter 

Quercus 

Long  lobed  and 

Similar  to  above, 

Very  similar 

Smaller    than 

coccinea 

lacy  in  appear- 

but usually 

to    above, 

above,  broad 

Scarlet 

ance,    bristle- 

with   tips 

usually 

and  short,  less 

oak 

tipped,  bright 

hairy 

slightly 

than  1  in.  held 

green     above, 

rougher, 

in  a  heavy  cup 

scarlet     in 

trunk     usu- 

for about  $  its 

autumn 

ally  with 

length,    one- 

many  small 

year-old  acorns 

stubs,    on 

present     in 

twigs 

winter 

smooth 

Quercus 

Resembling    red 

Long,    sharply 

Almost  black, 

Very    similar    to 

velutina 

oak    in    shape 

pointed,    5- 

rough      and 

scarlet    oak 

Black       or 

but    glossy 

sided  and  cov- 

furrowed on 

except    cup    is 

Yellow 

above,   with 

ered  with  gray 

trunk, 

rougher    and 

oak 

yellowish 

hairs 

smooth     on 

has     fringed 

petioles 

branches, 

margin,      one- 

inner     bark 

year-old  acorns 

orange 

present     in 

colored 

winter 

Dendrology 
THE  BLACK  OAKS  —  Continued 


71 


NAME 

LEAVES 

BUDS 

BARK 

FRUIT 

Quercus 

Resembling 

Very      small, 

Very    dark, 

Very     small, 

palustris 

scarlet   oak 

pointed, 

finely  fur- 

dark brown, 

Pin  oak 

except 

smooth,    dark 

rowed  and 

with  vertical 

smaller 

brown,  scaly 

hard,  nu- 

black  stripes 

merous  little 

radiating  from 

dead 

tip,    flesh    yel- 

branches on 

low,    one-year- 

trunk 

old  acorns  pres- 

ent in  winter 

The  chestnut 

There  are  two  species  of  chestnut  in  eastern  America, 
but  only  one  is  of  importance  as  a  timber  tree,  and  this 
is  the  common  American  chestnut.  Everyone  within 
the  natural  range  of  the  chestnut  knows  the  tree  and  its 
fruit.  The  tree  is  very  generally  distributed  throughout 
the  hardwood  forest  of  the  United  States,  and  almost 
every  farm  woodlot  will  have  chestnut  amongst  the  other 
species.  Chestnut  is  particularly  valuable  about  the 
farm  as  a  post  timber  and  for  all  kinds  of  fencing  and  for 
any  purpose  for  which  wood  durable  in  the  soil  is  needed. 
It  is  not  particularly  strong  and  supplies  a  different  kind 
of  farm  wood  from  most  other  common  species.  It  is 
also  a  desirable  tree  for  its  fruit,  which  is  a  rather  large 
and  very  spiny  burr  containing  from  one  to  three  rich 
brown  nuts,  very  delicious  to  the  taste.  These  ripen 
in  the  fall  about  the  time  frost  appears.  Chestnut  grows 
very  readily  from  the  seed  but  makes  better  and  more 
rapid  growth  from  stump  sprouts.  A  tree  grown  from  the 


72 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


seed  will,  when  cut  down,  send  up  a  number  of  shoots  from 
the  stump  that  in  25  or  30  years  will  grow  into  good  sized 
poles  and  produce  three  or  four  on  the  same  stump  which 
produced  one  tree  before.  This  sprout  system  is  the  most 
profitable  way  to  grow  chestnut  on  the  farm. 

THE  AMERICAN  CHESTNUT 


NAME 

LEAVES 

BUDS 

BARK 

FRUIT 

Castanea 

Simple,    oblong, 

Scaly,    smooth, 

Very      dark 

A     globose     and 

dentata 

coarsely 

rounded,  and 

gray     and 

very  spiny  burr 

American 

toothed,  alter- 

yellowish 

deeply    fur- 

containing one 

chestnut 

nate,     dark 

brown      in 

rowed     on 

or  more  shiny 

yellow     green 

color 

trunk, 

dark    brown, 

in  color 

smooth  and 

thin-shelled, 

brown    on 

sweet     and 

twigs,   often 

edible  nuts 

with   a  yel- 

lowish tinge 

The  beech 

The  American  beech  is  a  very  characteristic  tree  and 
when  once  known  is  not  confused  with  other  trees,  since 
there  is  but  one  species  in  this  country.  There  are  several 
other  beeches  in  America,  but  they  have  been  brought 
from  Europe  and  are  found  planted  for  decorative  pur- 
poses in  parks  and  on  lawns.  They  may  usually  be  known 
by  their  deep  purple  leaves  or  green  deeply  cut  leaves. 
Our  native  beech  is  a  beautiful  tree  with  smooth,  tight- 
fitting  steel-  or  light-gray  bark  and  simple,  alternate, 
oval  leaves  with  coarse  serrations.  The  fruit  is  a  small 
prickly  burr,  very  different  from  that  of  the  chestnut, 
inclosing  one  or  two  small  light  brown  triangular  or  three- 


Dendrology 


73 


sided,  sweet  and  edible  nuts.  The  wood  is  fine-grained, 
hard  and  strong,  but  not  durable  when  in  contact  with 
the  soil  or  when  used  in  a  moist  situation.  The  wood 
makes  a  good  interior  finish  and  flooring,  and  is  used  for 
handles.  About  the  farm,  it  is  especially  valuable  for 
fuel  and  for  purposes  for  which  a  strong  wood  is  needed 
and  where  it  will  remain  dry.  The  beech  will  grow 
excellently  in  a  woodlot  under  the  other  and  taller  trees. 
It  forms  an  excellent  understory  in  forestry.  The  Ameri- 
can beech  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  so-called 
blue  beech.  The  latter  is  a  small  tree  and  is  entirely 
distinct  from  the  former.  In  winter,  the  American  beech 
may  readily  be  recognized  by  its  long,  sharply  pointed 
light  brown  and  scaly  buds  and  its  smooth  gray  bark. 
No  other  tree  in  our  northern  forests  has  a  bud  like  the 
beech. 

THE  AMERICAN  BEECH 


NAME 

LEAVES 

BUDS 

BARK 

FRUIT 

Fagus 

Simple,        alter- 

About 1  in.  long, 

Smooth,  close- 

A    small    prickly 

ameri- 

nate,  toothed, 

slender    and 

fitting     and 

burr  with  one  or 

cana 

green  on  both 

sharply 

bluish    gray 

two      thin- 

American 

sides 

pointed,  scaly 

or     steel 

shelled     three- 

beech 

and    shining 

blue 

sided     light 

brown 

brown     nuts, 

kernel     sweet 

and  edible 

The  elms.     Fig.  18 

The  elms  are  valuable  trees  both  for  their  strong,  hard 
and  tough  wood  and  for  decorative  planting.  The  elm 
tree  assumes  a  fountain-like  or  vase  form  and  with  its  droop- 


74 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


ing  outer  branches  is  one  of  our  most  beautiful  shade  trees. 

The  elms  are  early  blooming  trees.     The  blossoms  appear 

long  before   the 
leaves,   and   the 
seeds   are    ripe 
about  the  time 
the   leaves   are 
fully  developed. 
The    disc-like 
green   seeds  fall 
to  the  ground  as 
soon  as  ripe  and 
when  the  soil  is 
favorable,     they 
grow    in    a   few 
days.   Elm  seeds 
must  be  planted 
as  soon  as   col- 
lected. The  most 
common  species 
is  the  American 
or     white     elm. 
The  cork  or  rock 
elm  may   easily 
be  distinguished 
by    the    corky 
ridges    on    the 
bark  of  the  twigs. 
The  slippery  elm 
has    very    hairy 

FIG.  18.  —  American  elm.     Typical  form.  buds     and     the 


Dendrology 


75 


inner  bark  is  mucilaginous  and  sweet  to  the  taste.  Elm 
wood  has  many  uses  and  is  a  valuable  wood  about  the 
farm  and  home,  whenever  strong  and  tough  wood  is 
desired.  For  a  shade  tree  in  the  yard  and  on  home 
grounds,  the  elm  is  valued  next  to  the  maple  for  the  beauty 
of  its  crown  and  the  deep  cool  shade  it  produces.  A 
fine  lawn  specimen  if  far  more  valuable  for  its  beauty  and 
shade  than  for  its  wood. 

THE  KINDS  OF  ELMS 


NAME 

LEAVES 

BUDS 

BARK 

FRUIT 

Ulmus 

Alternate,  simple 

Scaly,    smooth, 

Dark  brown, 

A  papery  wafer, 

ameri- 

toothed,     and 

brown,      leaf 

smooth     on 

winged,  ripe  in 

cana 

rough    above, 

buds     small, 

twigs,    ashy 

spring     before 

White      or 

smooth  under- 

flower    buds 

gray,       fur- 

leaves are  full 

American 

neath 

large  and  flat 

rowed       on 

grown 

elm 

trunk 

Ulmus 

Alternate, 

Very  similar  to 

Dark      brown 

Similar  to  above 

race- 

simple 

above 

with    ridges 

mosa 

toothed,     and 

of    cork    on 

Rock    or 

similar     to 

twigs,    ashy 

Cork 

above 

gray    and 

elm 

furrowed  on 

trunk 

Ulmus 

Alternate, 

Rounded,  dark 

Dark   brown 

Similar  to  above 

pubes- 

simple 

brown,  hairy, 

and     rough, 

cens 

toothed,  rough 

large     flat 

hairy     on 

Slippery  or 

and  harsh  on 

flower    buds, 

twigs,    gray 

Red  elm 

both  sides 

very  hairy 

and     fur- 

rowed   on 

trunk,  inner 

bark    muci- 

laginous 

76  The  Farm  Woodlot 

The  poplars.     Figs.  19,  20,  21 

The  genus  Populus,  or  the  poplars,  is  a  group  of  trees  not 
very  well  understood  by  the  layman.     They  are  commonly 


FIG.  19.  —  Trembling  aspen  or  popple  (Populus 
tremuloides) . 

known  as  the  cot  ton  woods  or  the  aspens.  To  this  group 
belong  such  trees  as  the  Norway  poplar  and  the  North 
Carolina  poplar.  These  are  varieties  of  the  common 
cottonwood  or  Populus  deltoides.  The  poplars  must  not 


Dendrology  77 

be  confused  with  the  yellow  poplar  or  tulip  tree.     This 
latter  is  a  very  different  tree  and  is  closely  related  to  the 


FIG.  20.  —  Big-tooth  aspen  (Populus  grandidentata) . 

magnolias.      The   poplars    are    very   widely   distributed 
over  the  United  States  and  are  particularly  conspicuous 


78 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


FIG.  21.  — Cottonwood  (Populus  del- 

toides) . 


In  the  northern  part, 
particularly  on  cut- 
over  and  burned-over 
forest  land.  The  trees 
of  this  group  always 
may  be  distinguished 
by  the  leaves  and  fruit. 
The  leaves  have  their 
petioles  flattened  at 
right  angles  to  the 
blade  of  the  leaf  and 
this  causes  them  to 
flutter  in  the  slightest 
breeze.  They  always 
bloom  in  early  spring 
before  the  leaves  are 
out,  and  the  seed  is 
ripe  and  ready  for  dis- 
semination by  the  time 
the  leaves  are  about 
fully  developed.  The 
seed  is  widely  scattered 
by  the  little  cotton 
tuft  to  which  it  is  at- 
tached. This  cotton  is 
borne  only  on  the  pis- 
tillate tree,  hence  the 
nuisance  about  the 
farm  and  home  may  be 


entirely  avoided  by  planting  the  staminate   form.     Al- 
though the  poplars  grow  well  from  seed,  all  of  them  grow 


Dendrology 


79 


from  cuttings,  and  it  is  in  this  way  that  they  are  propa- 
gated. 

The  wood  of  all  the  species  is  soft,  fine-grained,  weak 
and  very  perishable  in  the  earth.  Most  of  the  species  are 
rapid  growers,  especially  the  forms  known  as  Norway 

THE  KINDS  OF  POPLAR 


NAME 

LEAVES 

BUDS 

BARK 

FRUIT 

Populus 

Broad  and               Alternate, 

Greenish  gray 

A     catkin     with 

tremu- 

rounded,                    sharply 

and    almost 

many  capsules, 

loides 

shining  above, 

pointed      and 

smooth, 

each   with 

Quaking 

flattened 

almost   black, 

with     black 

many  small 

aspen, 

petiole,    finely 

shiny     and 

scars,    inner 

seeds  attached 

or 

toothed 

sometimes 

bark   bitter 

to    a    cottony 

popple 

slightly  sticky 

tuft  which 

serves  to  float 

it    in    the    air, 

mature  at 

time   the 

• 

leaves  are 

developed 

Populus 

Broad  and  oval 

Alternate,  blunt' 

Greenish  gray, 

Very    similar    to 

grandi- 

with    very 

pointed,    light 

turning 

above      except 

dentata 

coarse  serra- 

gray and 

black, 

developing      a 

Large- 

tions,   or 

hairy,  not 

smooth 

little  later 

tooth 

coarsely 

sticky 

except       on 

aspen 

scalloped, 

old      trunk, 

upper    surface 

inner     bark 

dull 

not  bitter 

Populus 

Triangular   with 

Alternate,     long 

Light  gray  on 

Similar  to  above 

del- 

finely    toothed 

pointed,  sticky 

young  trees, 

toides 

margin,  smooth 

with    a   resin- 

blackish 

Cotton- 

above 

ous  balsam 

gray        and 

wood 

very    rough 

on    old 

trunks 

80  The  Farm  Woodlot 

poplar  and  the  North  Carolina  poplar.  These  two 
trees  are  very  extensively  used  in  plantations,  particularly 
in  the  prairie  and  northern  states.  The  wood  is  valuable 
for  fuel  and  gives  good-sized  timber  in  a  short  time. 
For  fence  posts,  the  wood  is  very  suitable  and  lasting  when 
properly  treated  with  creosote  or  some  other  wood  pre- 
servative. Cottonwood  lumber  has  many  uses  and  is 
becoming  more  prominent  as  other  woods  are  becoming 
more  rare  and  consequently  more  expensive.  The  wood 
now  finds  its  way  into  finishing  material  for  buildings  and 
finds  a  large  use  for  packing  boxes  and  wood  pulp. 

There  are  a  number  of  poplars  that  have  been  introduced 
from  Europe  and  most  of  these  can  easily  be  distinguished 
from  our  native  species.  The  Lombardy  poplar  is  one 
of  these  and  is  very  commonly  planted.  It  may  readily 
be  recognized  by  its  tall  spire-like  form,  having  all  the 
limbs  vertically  arranged,  forming  a  spire.  Another 
common  species  is  the  white  poplar,  sometimes  wrongly 
called  the  "silver  maple."  This  species  forms  a  large 
wide-spreading  crown  and  has  light  colored  bark;  the 
upper  side  of  the  leaf  is  green  while  the  under  is  white 
and  cottony. 

The  willows.     Fig.  22 

There  are  so  many  species  of  the  willows  that  it  is  a  diffi- 
cult matter  to  present  any  kind  of  classification  that  is 
of  value.  The  willows  may  be  found  in  almost  every 
piece  of  wood  land,  particularly  if  there  is  considerable 
moisture  in  the  soil  or  if  there  is  a  swampy  area.  The 
willows  belong  to  the  same  family  as  the  poplars  and  the 
two  genera  have  many  characters  in  common.  A  willow 


Dendrology 


81 


may  always  be  distinguished  from  a 
poplar  by  examining  the  bud  scale. 
The  poplars  have  scaly  buds,  while  the 
willows  have  but  one  bud  scale,  which 
covers  the  bud  like  a  hood.  The  blos- 
soms are  very  similar,  being  borne  in 
separate  aments  and  on  separate  trees. 
The  blossoms  appear  very  early  in  the 
spring,  and  the  seeds  are  in  some 
species  scattered  early  in  the  spring 
and  in  others  in  midsummer.  The 
willows  have  their  buds  covered,  under 
the  hoodlike  scale,  with  a  whitish  silky 
pubescence  which  becomes  very  showy 
as  soon  as  growth  begins  and  the  bud 
scale  is  pushed  off.  These  silky  buds 
give  the  name  of  " pussy  willow"  to 
practically  any  of  the  species  with  buds 
large  enough  to  become  showy.  Some 
species  have  very  large  buds  and  when 
fully  developed  produce  a  very  beauti- 
ful appearance  on  lawn  trees  or  wher- 
ever decorative  effects  are  appreciated. 

The  wood  of  the  willows  is  about  the 
same  as  that  of  the  poplars  so  far  as 
farm  forestry  is  concerned.  They  are 
fast  growers,  producing  soft,  light, 
weak  and  perishable  wood  which  is  put 
to  about  the  same  uses  about  the  farm 
as  poplar. 

Many  of  our  willows  are  introduced 


FIG.  22.— Willow 

(Salix). 


82  The  Farm  Woodlot 

from  Europe  and  this  makes  it  more  difficult  to  know  all 
the  native  species.  Willows  are  good  trees  for  windbreak 
purposes,  particularly  where  snow  traps  are  necessary 
about  plantations.  Willows  produce  great  quantities  of 
seed  almost  every  year  but  it  is  not  desirable  to  propagate 
them  from  seed,  since  they  grow  very  well  from  cuttings, 
which  method  of  propagation  is  the  one  used  by  all  planters. 

The  birches 

Every  farm  woodlot  has  some  species  of  birch  and 
frequently  there  are  a  number  of  species.  The  black  and 
yellow  birches  are  the  most  common  trees  in  the  deep 
woods  and  are  usually  found  along  streams  and  in  moist 
places.  The  former  is  the  larger  tree,  as  a  rule,  and  does 
not  favor  moist  places  quite  so  much  as  the  latter.  By 
consulting  the  following  key,  the  common  birches  may  be 
readily  distinguished.  As  a  rule,  after  a  little  observation 
they  may  be  distinguished  easily  by  their  bark.  The  black 
and  yellow  birches  have  a  pronounced  odor  and  flavor 
of  wintergreen  in  the  inner  bark.  In  the  black  birch  this 
flavor  is  very  strong,  while  in  the  yellow  it  is  milder  and 
modified  by  a  slightly  bitter  taste.  From  the  branches 
and  bark  of  the  black  birch  is  distilled  the  extract  of  winter- 
green.  Both  these  trees  are  valuable  for  their  wood, 
which  has  very  general  use  for  flooring  and  interior  finish 
as  well  as  for  furniture  and  many  other  purposes.  About 
the  farm  the  birches  are  very  useful  for  the  excellent  fuel 
which  they  produce.  The  wood  has  good  heating  quali- 
ties and  burns  without  sparking.  The  gray  and  paper 
birches  are  less  important  except  for  fuel.  They  usually 
occur  after  a  forest  fire  or  after  lumbering,  and  are  charac- 


Dendrology 

THE  KINDS  OF  BIRCH 


83 


NAME 

LEAVES 

BUDS 

BARK 

FRUIT 

Betula 
lenta 
Sweet  or 
Black 
birch 

Alternate,    oval, 
simple,    finely 
toothed 

Scaly,  green  and 
brown,  stami- 
nate      aments 
present    in 
winter 

Dark     brown, 
shiny     on 
twigs,     very 
dark      on 
trunk,       re- 

Resembling    a 
cone,     remain- 
ing on  tree  and 
shedding    seed 
in  late  fall  and 

sembling 

winter 

cherry, 

inner     bark 

very     aro- 

matic 

Betula 

Alternate,    oval, 

Very   similar   to 

Light      brown 

Very    similar    to 

lutea 
Yellow 

simple,    finely 
toothed,     dull 

above 

and    shiny 
on    twigs, 

above 

birch 

green      on 

silvery  gray 

upper  side 

or      straw 

colored      on 

trunk,  com- 

ing    off     in 

curls,    less 

aromatic 

than  above 

Betula 

Alternate,   short 

Small,     scaly, 

Brownish  red 

Very    similar    to 

papyri- 

pointed, 

sharply 

on  twigs, 

above 

fera 

doubly 

pointed, 

glossy, 

Paper 
birch 

toothed,     not 
shiny  above 

sometimes 
waxy,      stam- 

chalky 
white    on 

inate     aments 

outside    of 

present      in 

trunk, 

winter 

brown 

underneath 

separating 

into     thin 

papery 

layers,     not 

- 

aromatic 

Betula 

Alternate,     long 

Small,     pointed, 

Blackish       on 

Very    similar    to 

For"- 

pointed,  trian- 
gular,      shiny 

waxy      and 
scaly,       stam- 

twigs, 
chalky 

above 

White  or 

above     and 

inate     aments 

white     with 

Gray 

doubly 

present    in 

black 

birch 

toothed 

winter 

blotches    on 

trunk,      not 

papery,   not 

aromatic 

84 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


teristic  of  such  areas  as  well  as  of  abandoned  fields.  The 
birches  seed  abundantly  and  the  seed  is  scattered  widely 
by  the  wind.  They  also  sprout  from  the  stump  and  in 
this  way  are  prolific  fuel  producers. 

The  hornbeam 

The  hornbeam,  or  ironwood,  is  not  a  tree  that  is  found  in 
the  farm  plantation.  It  is  very  common  and  is  found 
in  practically  every  natural  woodlot  in  which  trees  have 
had  an  equal  opportunity  to  establish  themselves.  The 
hornbeam  is  sometimes  called  ironwood  and  is  confused 
with  the  small  tree  called  blue  beech  or  ironwood.  The 
two  trees  are  small,  but  the  hornbeam  is  by  far  the  more 
valuable.  The  two  trees  may  readily  be  distinguished 
from  each  other  by  the  nature  and  color  of  the  bark.  The 
blue  beech  has  a  close-fitting  dark  gray  bark  and  fluted 

trunk. 

THE  COMMON  HORNBEAM 


NAME 

LEAVES 

BUDS 

BARK 

FRUIT 

Ostrya 

Simple,  alter- 

Very     small, 

Light    gray, 

Hop-like,     con- 

virgin- 

nate,    oval 

scaly  and  rich 

soft     and 

sisting     of    a 

iana 

and     finely 

brown      in 

scaly, 

number    of 

Hop  Horn- 

toothed,      re- 

color,     stami- 

resembling 

papery      sacs 

beam    or 

sembling     the 

nate      aments 

the  bark  of 

each  contain- 

ironwood 

elm 

present     in 

a     young 

ing   one  seed 

winter    with 

white   oak 

the  buds 

The  hornbeam  is  a  valuable  little  tree  for  its  tough 
and  very  hard  and  fine-grained  wood.  It  does  not  grow 
to  large  size,  but  can  be  depended  on  to  furnish  a 
pole  of  exceptional  strength  and  toughness.  It  is  also 


Dendrology 


85 


good  for  handles  and  finds  many  uses 
about  the  farm.  It  produces  consider- 
able quantities  of  seed  and  may  readily 
be  grown  from  seed.  It  will  grow  in  any 
average  woods  soil,  and  in  any  woodlot  in 
which  it  does  not  occur,  it  is  well  worth 
while  to  encourage  its  introduction. 

The  walnuts.    Fig.  23 

The  walnuts  are  very  desirable  trees 
to  have  about  the  farm  and  woodlot. 
Of  the  walnuts  native  to  the  United 
States,  there  are  but  two  species  in  the 
East  and  these  are  easily  distinguished 
from  each  other.  In  some  sections  of 
the  country  the  hickories  are  locally 
called  walnuts.  This  is  not  correct  and 
leads  to  confusion.  The  English  walnut 
also  is  found  frequently  planted  about 
homes,  but  it  has  been  introduced  from 
Europe  and  does  not  belong  to  our  trees. 
The  black  walnut  and  the  butternut  are 
quite  different  in  their  development  as 
trees.  The  former  is  by  far  the  better 
tree  as  well  as  the  more  valuable  for  its 
wood.  The  heart  wood  of  this  walnut 
is  very  dark  colored  and  has  a  very  fine 
grain,  making  it  a  very  desirable  and 
costly  wood  for  furniture  of  all  kinds. 
The  roots  of  large  trees  are  also  very  valuable,  particularly 
for  gun  stocks.  Good  well-developed  black  walnut  can 


FIG.  23.  —  Branch  of 
butternut  (Juglans 
cinered),  showing 
chambered  pith. 


86 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


be  used,  tree  and  stump.  The  butternut  is  in  some  places 
called  the  white  walnut.  It  is  usually  a  very  much  poorer 
tree  in  its  development,  forming  a  low,  wide-spreading 
tree  or  frequently  having  a  number  of  stems  from  the  same 
root.  The  fruit  of  both  species  is  valuable  for  food,  and 
every  farm  boy  knows  walnuts  and  butternuts.  For  farm 
planting  the  walnuts  are  not  the  most  desirable  trees, 
since  they  require  such  good  soil  that  the  land  is  worth 
more  for  agriculture  or  horticulture  than  for  tree  growing. 
To  be  sure  they  will  grow  in  poor  soil,  but  so  slowly  that 
other  trees  are  more  valuable.  For  the  farm  the  walnuts 
are  better  as  individual  trees  planted  about  the  farm  or 
home  grounds  where  such  trees  are  desired.  As  individual 
trees,  the  walnuts  bear  large  quantities  of  fruit  and  they 

THE  KINDS  OF  WALNUT 


NAME 

LEAVES 

BUDS 

BARK 

FRUIT 

Juglans 

Compound,    15- 

Few    scales, 

Light  gray  on 

Hard-shelled, 

nigra 

23     leaflets, 

covered    with 

twigs,    very 

globose      with 

Black 

alternate 

silky     gray 

dark     or 

a   green, 

walnut 

hairs,     lateral 

blackish, 

smooth     husk, 

buds     super- 

rough  and 

not  sticky 

posed,     pith 

deeply  fur- 

chambered 

rowed    on 

and  brown 

trunk 

Juglans 

Compound,    11- 

Few    scales, 

Greenish  gray 

An   elongated, 

cinerea 

17    leaflets, 

covered     with 

on    twigs, 

hard-shelled 

Butternut 

alternate 

silky    gray 

gray     and 

rough  nut  cov- 

hairs   not    so 

furrowed  on 

ered  by  a  yel- 

large as  above, 

trunk 

lowish  sticky 

pith 

husk 

chambered, 

and  brown 

Dendrology  87 

are  more  desirable  for  this  purpose  than  for  wood  and 
timber  for  the  farm.  Walnuts  are  easily  grown  from  seed. 
They  have  the  habit  of  sending  straight  down  a  very  long 
and  persistent  tap-root  very  early  in  life,  so  that  they  are 
difficult  trees  to  handle  successfully  in  planting.  It  is 
always  advisable  to  plant  the  seed  in  the  place  where  the 
trees  are  desired,  and  if  there  is  danger  of  squirrels  digging 
out  the  nuts  and  eating  them,  it  is  well  to  coat  them  with 
tar  or  anything  that  will  keep  squirrels  away.  If  safe 
from  mice  and  squirrels,  the  nuts  may  be  planted  in  the 
fall.  Otherwise  they  will  need  to  be  kept  in  moist  sand 
in  a  cold  place  all  winter  and  planted  in  the  spring  as  soon 
as  the  ground  is  free  from  frost. 

The  hickories 

The  hickories  are  very  widely  distributed  in  North 
America.  Most  of  the  species  are  very  valuable  for  their 
wood  and  some  are  valuable  also  for  their  fruit.  Almost 
every  native  farm  woodlot  will  have  some  species  of 
hickory.  If  not,  trees  of  a  desirable  species  can  easily 
be  grown  by  planting  seed  where  the  trees  are  desired. 
Not  all  the  hickories  produce  edible  fruit.  Some  are  very 
bitter  to  the  taste,  while  some  others  have  a  very  heavy 
and  much  chambered  shell,  so  that  the  kernel  is  small 
and  difficult  to  extract.  As  a  rule,  hickories  in  the  northern 
states  with  a  heavy  divided  husk  inclosing  the  nut  have 
edible  fruit.  The  husk  usually  separates  from  the  nut 
naturally  at  the  time  the  nuts  come  from  the  trees.  Of 
all  the  hickories,  the  pecan  hickory  is  the  most  valuable 
for  the  fruit.  Second-growth  hickory  is  a  common  name 
for  young  hickory  that  has  grown  rapidly  from  the  seed 


88 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


THE  KINDS  OF  HICKORY 


NAME 

LEAVES 

BUDS 

BARK 

FRUIT 

Hicoria 

Compound,    7-9 

Scaly,  large,  egg- 

Brownish 

A      thick-shelled 

alba 

alternate, 

shaped   and 

gray    and 

nut      with      a 

Mocker 

strong  scented 

sharply 

hairy   on 

thick,     strong- 

Nut 

pointed,    gray 

twigs,    very 

odored    woody 

and  silky 

dark       gray 

husk     separat- 

on  trunk, 

ing  in  thirds  or 

hard  and 

quarters,     ker- 

grooved 

nel  sweet 

Hicoria 

Compound, 

Similar  to  above 

Brownish 

A       thin-shelled 

glabra 

3-5-7  leaflets, 

but  very  much 

gray    and 

smooth   nut 

Pignut 

alternate 

smaller 

smooth     on 

with    thin 

twigs,    dark 

leathery    husk 

gray,       fur- 

partially    sep- 

rowed     but 

arating,  kernel 

smooth     on 

bitter 

trunk 

Hicoria 

Compound, 

Short,    rounded, 

Brownish, 

A    moderately 

ovata 

5-7       leaflets, 

scaly    and 

smooth      or 

thick-shelled 

Shagbark 

large,  alternate 

pointed,  outer 

hairy    on 

smooth  nut 

scales    dark 

twigs,    light 

in  a  heavy 

• 

brown,     inner 

gray  and 

grooved     husk 

scales       silky 

shedding  in 

separating  into 

gray 

long       hard 

thirds  or  quar- 

strips   or 

ters,  kernel 

plates 

sweet 

Hicoria 

Compound, 

Long,    with  few 

Smooth  and 

A   small    smooth 

minima 

small     leaflets 

scales,    brassy 

gray  on 

nut  with  a  thin 

Bitter 

7-11,       alter- 

yellow 

twigs, 

leathery    husk 

Nut 

nate 

brownish 

and  very  bitter 

gray    and 

kernel 

rather 

smooth  with 

many  fine 

furrows 

Dendrology  89 

or  from  stump  sprouts  and  consists  almost  entirely  of 
sap  wood  that  is  creamy  white  and  very  tough.  This 
wood  is  very  valuable  for  all  sorts  of  handles  and  for 
repairing  parts  of  farm  implements  and  machinery,  and 
for  any  purpose  requiring  a  piece  of  exceptionally  strong 
and  tough  wood. 

The  locusts 

The  term  " locust"  applies  to  several  kinds  of  trees,  two 
in  particular,  which  are  very  different.  In  the  northern 
states  the  name  applies  equally  to  the  black  locust,  also 
called  the  yellow  locust,  and  to  the  honey  locust.  These 
two  trees,  however,  are  very  different,  but  are  both  known 
as  locust.  The  black  or  yellow  locust  is  a  very  valuable 
farm  tree  and  grows  abundantly  in  many  parts  of  the  coun- 
try. The  honey  locust  is  less  valuable  and  is  not  so  abun- 
dant. Both  trees  are  ornamental  and  produce  very  fra- 
grant clusters  of  flowers  coming  in  early  summer  after  the 
leaves  are  all  fully  developed.  The  black  locust  may  always 
be  distinguished  from  the  honey  locust  by  the  nature  of 
the  thorns,  which  are  in  pairs,  and  very  short,  one  on  each 
side  of  the  bud  in  case  of  the  black  locust,  and  very  long 
and  three-pronged  in  case  of  the  honey  locust.  The  latter 
frequently  has  thorns  on  the  trunk  of  the  tree  three  and 
four  inches  long.  The  black  locust  grows  well  from 
the  seed  and  develops  so  rapidly,  producing  such  hard 
and  durable  wood,  that  few  trees  excel  it  for  farm  pur- 
poses. The  one  great  drawback  to  the  extensive  growing 
of  this  tree  is  the  fact  that  the  locust  borer  burrows  in 
the  wood  of  the  trunk  and  large  limbs,  destroying  the 
tree  and  rendering  the  wood  worthless.  No  satisfactory 


90 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


remedy  has  yet  been  found  for  preventing  the  attacks  of 
this  borer. 

THE  KINDS  OF  LOCUST 


NAME 

LEAVES 

BUDS 

BARK 

FRUIT 

Robinia 

Compound  with 

Small,    gray, 

Rough,      dark 

A  light  thin 

pseuda- 

many       small 

silky    and 

gray, 

dark    brown 

cacia 

leaflets,     dark 

sunken  into 

deeply    fur- 

pod   with 

Black       or 

green    on 

the    stem 

rowed, 

small    black 

Yellow 

upper     side, 

between  two 

smooth  and 

and  very  hard 

locust 

pale   under- 

small thorns 

light   brown 

seeds,    usually 

neath 

on  twigs 

on     after    the 

leaves    have 

fallen 

Gleditsia 

Compound  with 

Small,   clustered 

Rough    and 

A  long  and  wide 

tri- 

many  small 

and    partially 

dark,    fur- 

reddish brown 

acanthos 

leaflets,  dark 

sunken  in  the 

rowed  and 

pod,    fleshy 

Honey 

above  and 

stem,  situated 

scaly   with 

and   usually 

locust 

pale  under- 

below  large 

many  long 

twisted, 

neath 

and    long 

thorns  on 

remains  on  the 

three-pointed 

the  trunk, 

trees  after  the 

thorns 

bark    on 

leaves  fall 

twigs  brown 

and   smooth 

•  ,.  *,*•• 

CHAPTER  V 

PRACTICAL  SYLVICULTURE,  OR  REGENERA- 
TION OF  WOODLOTS 

FOREST  regeneration  is  the  renewing  or  restoring  of 
forests.  It  is  conducted  in  two  ways,  —  separately,  or  in 
combination.  The  two  methods  are  called  "  natural 
regeneration,"  when  the  new  wood  crop  is  started  naturally 
by  selfsown  seed  or  by  stump  shoots,  and  "  artificial  re- 
generation," when  the  wood  crop  is  started  by  sowing 
seeds  or  by  planting  seedlings  or  cuttings. 

NATURAL    REGENERATION.       FigS.  24~28 

A  forest  already  established  is  implied  in  natural  re- 
generation. The  operations  consist  in  so  treating  the 
woods  that  a  new  crop  of  trees  becomes  established  as 
the  old  crop  is  cut  and  utilized.  There  are  several 
systems  of  handling  woodlands,  depending  on  the 
nature  of  the  soil  and  climate  and  the  kind  of  trees. 
Some  trees  reproduce  naturally  from  seed  and  stump 
shoots,  others  from  seed  only.  For  this  reason,  a  forest 
or  woodlot  must  be  treated  according  to  the  kinds  of  trees 
that  are  present. 

The  systems  or  methods  used  may  be  called 

1.  Selection  system. 

2.  Strip  system. 

3.  Group  system. 

4.  Coppice  or  sprout  system. 

91 


92 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


Selection  system 

This  is  nature's  method  of  regeneration  where  different 
kinds  of  trees  are  in  mixture  and  where  the  trees  are  of  all 
ages.  As  old  over-mature  trees  die  and  fall  to  the  ground, 


FIG.  24.  —  Natural  reproduction  of  Norway  pine  on  cut-over  lands. 

new  and  young  trees  soon  spring  up  and  fill  in  the  openings. 
In  practicing  this  system,  only  the  ripe  trees  are  taken  and 
the  open  spaces  left  by  them  are  readily  filled  in  by  young 
trees  growing  from  seeds  or  sprouts.  In  this  way  trees 
may  be  selected,  cut  and  taken  out  at  any  time,  yet  the 
forest  is  continuously  maintained. 


Practical  Sylviculture 


93 


FIG.  25.  —  Dense  natural  reproduction  of  Norway  pine,  showing  vig- 
orous shoots. 


94  The  Farm  Woodlot 

Strip  system 

This  system  can  be  used  only  when  there  are  trees  that 
bear  winged  seeds,  usually  small  and  sufficiently  light  to 


FIG.  26.  —  Natural  reproduction  of  white  oak  at  the  edge  of  the  woodlot. 


be  carried  some  distance  by  the  wind,  such  as  seed  of 
any  of  the  pines,  spruces,  maples,  and  the  like.     The 


96  The  Farm  Woodlot 

operations  consist  of  cutting  clear  strips  through  the 
forest  two  or  three  times  as  wide  as  the  trees  are  high  and 
in  no  case  any  wider  than  the  wind  will  scatter  the  seeds. 
The  strips  should  run  at  right  angles  to  the  direction  of 
the  prevailing  wind.  The  seed  from  the  trees  on  one  or 
both  sides  will  then  be  scattered  by  the  wind  over  the 
strip  and  a  new  growth  of  little  trees  will  result.  As 
soon  as  a  strip  is  well  stocked  with  new  trees,  usually  in 
a  few  years,  another  strip  may  be  cut,  and  so  on  until  the 
entire  forest  has  been  harvested. 

Group  system 

This  system  is  the  cutting  and  removal  of  ripe  trees 
in  groups  throughout  the  forest  and  allowing  the  seed 
from  the  neighboring  trees  to  supply  the  new  trees.  The 
groups  may  be  scattered  and  occur  wherever  the  ripe'  trees 
may  be.  (Fig.  27.) 

Coppice  system 

This  system  can  be  used  only  with  such  trees  as  the 
chestnut  and  some  oaks  that  grow  very  abundantly 
from  the  stumps  of  felled  trees  and  soon  restock  the  cut- 
over  area  with  new  growth  in  the  form  of  sprouts.  (Fig.  28.) 

In  the  choice  of  any  system  for  the  farm-forest  or 
woodlot,  the  one  that  meets  the  best  needs  of  the  owner 
and  is  best  suited  to  the  kind  of  trees  and  existing  condi- 
tions should  be  practiced.  The  usual  farm  forest  con- 
sists of  a  mixture  of  species  varying  in  size  from  small 
seedlings  to  ripe  trees.  For  such,  the  selection  system  is 
the  most  natural  and  the  best  to  practice,  since  it  allows 
the -removal  of  trees  of  any  size  and  at  any  time  with- 
out reducing  the  total  forest  area. 


Practical  Sylviculture 


97 


FIG.  28.  —  Reproduction  by  stump  sprouts. 


98  The  Farm  Woodlot 

ARTIFICIAL    REGENERATION 

The  artificial  formation  of  woods  is  accomplished  by 
direct  seeding,  by  planting  of  seedlings  or  cuttings  and  by 
a  combination  of  both.  The  methods  of  seed-sowing  and 
of  planting  may  now  be  considered. 

Direct  seeding,  or  sowing  of  seed 

The  success  of  direct  seeding  depends  on  the  nature  of 
the  sowing,  whether  broadcast  or  in  specially  prepared 
spots  called  seed-spots,  and  the  character  of  the  soil- 
cover  on  the  area  to  be  sown.  Direct  seeding  has  many 
serious  drawbacks.  The  high  cost  of  seed  and  the  un- 
certainty of  good  results  in  broadcast  seeding  have  made 
the  method  an  expensive  one  when  practiced  in  the 
United  States.  Seeding  in  seed-spots  is  very  much 
more  economical  and  has  given  better  results,  for  reasons 
to  be  pointed  out  farther  on.  The  sowing  of  seed  is 
advisable  only  when  conditions  are  most  favorable  to 
the  species  of  trees.  Among  these  conditions  may  be 
mentioned  the  natural  range,  the  soil  and  moisture,  selec- 
tion of  seed  and  preparation  of  the  soil. 

Natural  range.  —  Every  species  has  a  different  range 
or  territory,  in  which  it  is  growing  naturally.  It  is  con- 
fined to  this  territory  because  the  climate  and  soil  condi- 
tions are  there  best  suited  to  its  growth,  while  the  con- 
ditions elsewhere  are  either  directly  unfavorable  or  so 
much  better  suited  to  some  other  species  that  it  is  crowded 
out.  Naturally  the  best  growing  trees  are  the  most  de- 
sirable for  a  plantation.  To  know  that  a  locality  is  in 
the  range  of  a  desired  species  is  not  sufficient  to  determine 
the  adaptability  of  that  locality  to  sowing  seed  of  that 


Practical  Sylviculture  99 

species.  There  are  other  limitations  that  largely  govern 
the  suitability  of  localities  for  growing  certain  trees,  the 
chief  of  which  are  soil  and  moisture. 

Soil  and  moisture.  —  The  amount  of  moisture  and  the 
quality  of  the  soil,  both  chemical  and  physical,  frequently 
determine  very  largely  the  local  tree  growth.  For  ex- 
ample, the  white  pine  is  excluded  from  many  areas  well 
within  its  range  on  account  of  excessive  moisture  or  the 
total  lack  of  clay  in  the  soil,  while  the  tamarack,  which 
has  much  the  same  range,  is  found  in  pure  stands  in  the 
low  swampy  places,  and  even  in  mixture  with  the  pine.  A 
white  pine  planted  in  a  swamp,  or  a  tamarack  on  a  dry 
hillside,  would  not  do  well  even  in  the  center  of  their 
range.  Only  when  the  climate  and  soil  moisture  are 
favorable,  as  indicated  by  the  conditions  of  natural  growth, 
can  the  success  of  any  forest  growth  be  assured.  The 
exceptions  to  this  rule  in  the  case  of  individual  trees  will 
be  considered  under  ornamental  planting. 

Selection  of  seed.  —  All  seed  for  sowing  should  be 
cared  for  and  tested  as  described  in  the  "  f  arm  nursery" 
(page  1 12) .  The  quality  of  the  seed  for  broadcast  sowing  is 
even  more  important  than  for  seed-bed  sowing,  because 
it  is  likely  to  lie  on  the  ground  a  much  longer  time  before 
germination  takes  place.  Moreover,  the  seed  sown 
broadcast  lies  on  the  surface  of  a  poorly  prepared  soil 
which  the  roots  have  to  penetrate  to  obtain  a  footing. 
Only  the  vigorous-growing  seeds  can  overcome  this 
obstacle,  and  even  many  of  them  exhaust  their  vitality 
and  die  before  they  can  establish  a  root  system. 

Soil  cover.  —  Practically  every  location  in  which  seed- 
ing is  under  consideration  will  have  a  soil  cover  that 


100  The  Farm  Woodlot 

more  or  less  interferes  with  the  establishing  of  a  stand  of 
trees  from  sown  seed.  Chief  among  these  soil  covers  are 
(1)  grass  sod,  (2)  brush,  and  (3)  leaf  litter. 

(1)  Grass  sod.  —  When  grass  has  grown  for  any  con- 
siderable length  of  time,  the  roots  have  become  matted 
together,  forming  a  tough  sod.     It  is  useless  to  sow  seed 
on  such  ground.     The  stubble  holds  the  seed  suspended 
so  that,  if  it  germinates  at  all,  the  rootlet  has  to  extend 
a     distance    through     the     air    to    reach    the    ground. 
Even  then  it  is  unable  to  compete  with  the  roots  of  the 
grass.     Such  land  should  be  thoroughly  plowed  before 
seeding,  and  if  the  sod  is  very  heavy,  the  seeding  should 
not  be  done  until  the  next  year.     This  gives  a  chance 
for  the  roots  to  rot  and  the  soil  to  mellow.     From  the 
above,  it  is  evident  that  sowing  is  not  practicable  any- 
where on  the  prairies    outside  of  the  natural    range  of 
forest  trees.     The  grasses  are  predominant  in  this  region 
and  it  is  impossible  for  the  tiny  seedlings  to  compete,  with 
them  successfully.     Other  conditions  of  moisture,  sunlight, 
wind,  and  so  on,  are  so  different  from  those  of  the  forest 
that  the  young  trees  die  before  they  can  adapt  themselves 
to  their  new  situation.     This  is  often  hard  even  for  thrifty 
seedlings,  and  success  cannot  be  expected  of  the  smaller 
seedlings  that  are  struggling  for  their  lives. 

(2)  Brush.  —  Whether  the  brush  is  too  dense  to  permit 
sowing  is  a  question  that  must  be  left  largely  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  farmer.     If  the  brush  is  dense  enough  to  shade 
out  or  choke  the  young  seedlings,  of  course  there  is  no 
use  in  sowing  seed.     This  is  more  likely  to  be  the  case  with 
brush  that  has  very  thick,  heavy  foliage.     Thin-leaved, 
light-foliaged  brush  is  not  likely  to  be  too  dense,  and  in 


Practical  Sylviculture  101 

many  cases  rather  protects  than  hinders  the  seedlings. 
Destroying  this  brush  when  necessary  is  often  a  difficult , 
operation.  Unfortunately,  most  of  the  brush  plants  sprout 
luxuriantly  from  the  root  when  cut  or  burned  over,  and 
consequently  an  attempt  to  cut  or  burn  the  brush  off  a  cer- 
tain tract  often  results  in  a  second  crop  more  dense  than 
the  first.  Probably  the  best  method  is  to  cut  the  brush 
in  early  fall.  The  sprouts  starting  at  this  late  date  are 
caught  by  the  early  frosts  before  they  have  matured  and 
are  killed  back.  After  such  treatment,  the  stumps  do  not 
sprout  very  vigorously  the  next  spring.  Sheep  are  an 
effective  means  of  cleaning  up  brush  land.  Enough 
sheep  should  be  driven  on  the  area  in  spring  to  crowd  it, 
and  they  should  be  herded  closely.  Under  these  conditions 
they  will  browse  the  tender  sprouts  and  injure  them 
beyond  recovery.  In  addition  to  browsing  the  sprouts, 
their  sharp  feet  cut  the  leaf  mold,  especially  in  the 
early  spring  when  the  ground  is  soft,  and  expose  the 
mineral  soil,  thus  putting  the  ground  in  good  shape  for 
seeding.  The  first  summer's  grazing  will  kill  most  of  the 
brush,  while  a  short  period  of  close  grazing  the  next  spring 
will  catch  the  surviving  sprouts  and  prepare  the  ground 
for  immediate  seeding. 

(3)  Leaf  litter.  —  In  most  wooded  or  brush  lands, 
where  fires  have  been  absent  for  a  long  time,  there  will 
be  a  heavy  soil-covering  of  fallen  and  partially  decayed 
leaves.  These  leaves  form  a  layer  sometimes  several 
inches  thick,  and  so  poorly  decomposed  that  a  germinating 
seed  cannot  reach  the  mineral  soil.  Leaf  litter  may 
contain  enough  moisture  to  cause  seeds  to  germinate, 
but  before  the  rootlet  can  force  itself  down  into  the  soil  it 


102  The  Farm  Woodlot 

has  exhausted  its  vitality  or  become  dry  and  consequently 
has  been  killed.  Leaf  litter  when  thoroughly  decomposed 
and  mixed  with  the  soil  is  a  perfect  fertilizer,  but  in  any 
other  form  it  is  merely  a  soil  cover.  When  the  leaf  litter 
is  not  too  thick,  it  may  be  sufficiently  broken  with  a 
drag  to  enable  the  seeds  to  reach  the  soil.  Cattle  or  sheep 
may  trample  it  sufficiently  to  accomplish  the  same 
purpose.  In  cases  in  which  fire  will  not  harm  any  tree 
growth,  this  litter  may  be  burned  when  thoroughly  dry. 
Great  precaution  must  be  maintained  to  confine  the  fire 
to  a  small  area  at  a  time  and  never  allow  it  to  run  beyond 
control. 

Preparation  of  land.  —  In  practically  every  case,  nat- 
ural forest  land  will  need  some  preparation  before  seed- 
ing is  done.  The  method  of  treating  the  soil  is  a  matter 
for  the  farmer  or  owner  to  decide.  It  should  always  be 
done  in  the  most  economical  manner,  yet  with  thorough- 
ness. A  spring-  or  peg-tooth  harrow  is  an  effective  imple- 
ment when  it  can  be  used.  A  drag  of  any  sort  that  will  tear 
up  the  soil  will  be  sufficient.  Even  a  tree  top  with  some 
heavy,  strong  limbs  will  serve  as  a  rather  effective  drag. 
Whatever  sort  of  implement  is  used,  the  operation  should 
be  continued  until  the  soil  is  in  proper  condition  to  receive 
the  seed.  The  trampling  of  cattle  at  certain  times  of 
the  year,  especially  in  early  spring,  may  break  up  the 
surface  layer  of  soil  sufficiently.  In  small  special  areas, 
the  plow  may  be  used  and  the  ground  prepared  as  for 
grain  crops.  In  every  case  the  seedling  must  fasten 
its  roots  very  early  in  life  in  the  mineral  soil  in  order 
that  growth  may  continue. 

There  is  no  special  secret  in  the  preparation  of  land 


Practical  Sylviculture  103 

for  tree  growth.  After  examining  a  woodlot,  any  person 
acquainted  with  the  conditions  necessary  for  the  growth 
of  the  seed  of  almost  any  field  crop  can  readily  see  what 
may  be  done  to  enable  the  seed  to  get  down  into  the 
mineral  soil.  It  is  largely  a  matter  of  good  judgment. 

Seeding  and  planting 

Seeding  and  planting  are  methods  for  artificial  regenera- 
tion of  forests.  The  term  seeding  refers  to  the  actual 
scattering  of  seed  directly  in  the  woods,  either  broadcast 
or  on  small  specially  prepared  areas.  By  planting  is 
meant  the  actual  setting-out  of  small  trees  known  as  seed- 
lings that  have  been  grown  from  seed  in  the  farm  nursery, 
or  obtained  elsewhere.  At  present,  planting  of  seedlings 
is  the  method  mostly  used,  and  on  small  areas,  such  as 
the  woodlot  owner  possesses,  it  seems  to  be  the  most 
advisable  method.  In  some  parts  of  the  country,  experi- 
ments in  broadcast  direct  seeding  show  fairly  good  results. 
At  all  events,  under  the  proper  conditions,  some  of  our 
tree  species  can  be  successfully  regenerated  by  this 
method,  except  for  large  seeds  like  those  of  the  hickories, 
the  walnuts  and  the  oaks.  For  these  it  would  possibly 
be  better  for  the  woodlot  owner  to  practice  planting  of 
seedlings. 

Choice  of  method.  —  About  the  first  question  that  arises 
when  the  regeneration  of  the  woodlot  is  considered  is 
what  method  to  use,  whether  seeding  or  planting,  or  a 
combination  of  the  two.  This  can  be  determined  only  by 
carefully  considering  the  situation  and  the  conditions. 
Even  when  conditions  are  favorable  for  seeding,  it  is  so  diffi- 
cult to  secure  seed  of  good  quality  at  reasonable  cost, 


101  The  Farm  Woodlot 

that  it  might  be  more  economical  to  resort  to  planting. 
Three  or  four  years  might  be  gained  by  planting  instead 
of  seeding,  and  where  time  is  considered,  planting  would 
again  be  advisable.  Small  treeless  areas  that  are  to  be 
given  over  to  tree  growing  had  better  be  planted  rather 
than  seeded.  If  the  woodlot  has  a  crop  of  mature  trees 
ready  for  removing,  and  a  new  crop  of  trees  of  the  same 
kind  is  desirable,  then  it  is  a  matter  of  replacing  the  old 
crop. 

Since,  however,  it  is  very  seldom  that  a  piece  of  wood- 
land has  all  its  trees  fit  for  cutting  at  the  same  time,  and 
consequently  removed  at  the  same  time,  it  becomes  a 
problem  of  filling  in  open  places  in  which  trees  have 
been  taken  out  rather  than  to  produce  an  entire  new  crop. 
Where  the  entire  crop  is  removed,  it  would  be  better  to 
plant  seedlings  at  once  in  order  to  prevent  a  crop  of  brush 
and  weeds  from  choking  out  seedlings  planted  later.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  a  cut-over  area  is  practically  clean,  the 
soil  might  be  prepared  by  dragging  or  harrowing  and 
small  seeds  be  sown  broadcast.  Large  seed,  such  as  the 
oaks  and  hickories,  should  be  planted  in  furrows  or  in 
holes  made  by  a  stick,  without  preparing  the  soil.  In 
either  case  the  crop  of  brush  and  weeds  that  quickly 
springs  up  after  a  piece  of  woodland  is  cut  over  must  be 
considered  in  producing  a  new  crop  of  trees.  The  nature 
of  this  brush  and  weed  crop  must  be  understood  before 
either  seeding  or  planting  can  be  determined  intelligently. 

Direct  seeding  may  be  either  broadcast  or  partial. 
Broadcast  seeding  implies  a  sowing  of  any  area  in  much 
the  same  way  as  wheat  or  oats  is  sown  by  hand  in  the 
field.  Partial  seeding  implies  the  seeding  of  small  areas 


Practical  Sylviculture  105 

or  spots  within  the  woodland,  wherever  trees  have  been 
removed  and  open  places  occur.  The  advantages  and 
disadvantages  of  these  methods  will  be  taken  up  separately. 

Broadcast  seeding.  —  This  method,  up  to  the  present 
time,  is  expensive  and  not  altogether  certain.  It  is  best 
practiced  with  small  seeds  —  as  the  conifers,  —  and  is  best 
employed  directly  after  the  forest  is  cut  over  while  the 
soil  is  still  broken  and  the  ground-cover  in  good  condition 
for  the  seed.  The  best  time  for  broadcast  seeding  in 
the  woodlot  is  late  winter  or  early  spring.  Early  spring 
seeding,  either  on  top  of  the  snow  or  as  the  snow  is 
melting,  seems  to  give  best  results.  Fall  seeding  has 
the  disadvantage  of  exposing  the  seed  during  the  winter 
to  birds  and  rodents,  particularly  to  squirrels,  which  will 
destroy  most  or  all  of  it. 

Broadcast  seeding  may  also  be  employed  directly  after 
a  forest  fire  and  before  brush  and  weeds  spring  up. 
The  quantity  of  seed  to  be  used  under  this  method  is 
best  determined  after  studying  the  conditions.  Also 
the  quality  of  the  seed  must  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion, as  well  as  such  hazards  as  erosion,  washing  away  of 
seed  and  the  destruction  of  seed  by  rodents  and  birds,  as 
well  as  the  amount  of  money  to  be  expended.  Consider 
white  pine  as  an  example.  This  tree  has  about  28,000 
seeds  to  the  pound ;  sown  broadcast  on  one  acre  would 
equal  about  two  seeds  to  each  three  square  feet,  if  evenly 
distributed.  Three  pounds  to  the  acre  would  then  equal 
about  two  seeds  to  the  square  foot,  which  ought  to  be 
sufficient  with  seed  of  average  quality  sown  on  well-pre- 
pared forest  soil,  especially  since  seedlings  three  years  old 
should  not  stand  closer  than  six  by  six  feet. 


106  The  Farm  Woodlot 

Seed-spots.  —  Seeding  in  spots  is  usually  more  satis- 
factory than  broadcast  seeding.  The  method  is  appli- 
cable to  a  variety  of  conditions  and  has  a  number  of  dis- 
tinct advantages.  The  operation  of  establishing  a  seed- 
spot  consists  of  clearing  with  a  mattock  or  hoe  a  small 
area,  about  a  foot  square,  of  all  sod  or  leaf  litter,  digging 
up  the  soil  to  a  depth  of  a  few  inches,  smoothing  the 
spot,  and  planting  the  seed  in  this  prepared  ground. 
Small  seeds  like  those  of  the  pines,  birches  and  elms  are 
very  successfully  handled  in  this  way.  It  is  customary 
to  put  many  more  seeds  in  each  spot  than  can  grow  to 
tree  size.  For  example,  in  seeding  white  pine  by  this 
method,  about  twenty  or  thirty  seeds  to  each  spot  result 
in  averaging  about  three  seedlings  to  each  when  three 
years  old.  Some  of  the  spots  will  result  in  total  failure, 
while  others  will  have  too  many  seedlings.  By  transplant- 
ing from  the  overcrowded  spots  to  the  vacant  ones,  an 
even  stand  can  be  secured.  Seed-spots  are  usually  placed 
close  enough  to  one  another  to  allow  but  one  tree  to  the 
spot  when  grown  to  pole  size.  Seed-spots  spaced  six  by  six 
feet  will  eventually  produce  the  same  results  as  if  seedlings 
had  been  planted  with  the  same  spacing.  This  method 
has  distinct  advantages  over  broadcast  seeding.  First, 
there  is  a  marked  saving  of  seed,  since  only  about  one- 
eighth  or  one-tenth  as  much  seed  is  required.  Second, 
the  seed  is  placed  in  carefully  prepared  soil.  Third, 
the  spots  can  be  selected  so  that  no  seed  is  wasted  on 
barren  locations.  Seed-spots  are  particularly  applicable 
in  brushy  areas ;  also  where  there  is  a  heavy  sod,  and  for 
planting  underneath  other  trees. 


Practical  Sylviculture  107 

Collecting  and  storing   seeds 

In  every  woodlot  such  trees  as  the  oaks,  ashes,  maples 
are  always  desirable,  and  these  trees,  particularly,  are  the 
ones  that  it  is  wise  to  renew  as  fast  as  the  old  ones  are 
removed.  In  renewing  the  woodlot  under  such  conditions, 
it  seems  best  to  secure  seed  from  the  trees  themselves,  for 
seed-bearing  trees  may  be  found  in  any  woodlot.  Con- 
ditions may  be  such  that  the  seed  falling  from  the  trees 
will  spring  up  and  produce  sufficient  natural  reproduc- 
tion so  as  not  to  necessitate  any  artificial  aid.  However, 
just  the  opposite  is  usually  the  case.  Consequently,  it  is 
a  wise  precaution  to  collect  seed  from  such  species  as  it 
is  desired  to  perpetuate  and  to  plant  them  directly,  either 
in  the  woodlot  or  in  the  farm  nursery. 

Time  of  collecting.  —  Among  the  hardwood  trees,  the 
time  of  ripening  of  seed  varies  from  spring  until  fall ; 
consequently  it  is  necessary  to  know  at  what  time  the 
trees  fruit  in  order  to  collect  good,  fresh,  vital  seed. 
The  following  table  (page  108)  states  briefly  the  time  of 
ripening,  the  time  for  collecting,  the  time  for  planting, 
of  the  chief  seeds  produced  in  the  farm  woodlot. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  seeds  which  ripen  in  the  spring 
and  early  summer  grow  the  same  season.  This  must  be 
taken  into  account  when  planting  seeds  of  this  kind.  The 
elms  are  a  good  example  of  this.  Seeds  that  mature  in 
the  fall  pass  the  winter  on  the  ground  and  grow  the  follow- 
ing spring.  The  oaks  are  a  good  example  of  this  kind. 
It  is,  consequently,  a  comparatively  easy  matter  to  grow 
seedlings  from  spring  and  early  summer  seeds,  since  they 
ripen  at  a  time  when  the  soil  and  growing  conditions  are 


108 


Farm  Woodlot 


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Practical  Sylviculture  109 

right  for  immediate  growing.  They  need  no  special  care 
and  preparation  before  planting,  but  must  be  planted 
very  soon  after  coming  from  the  trees.  It  will  also  be 
noticed  that  the  willows  and  poplars  are  grown  from  cut- 
tings rather  than  from  seed.  However,  they  may  be  grown 
from  seed  by  scattering  branches  containing  the  seed 
capsules  on  moist  soil  just  as  the  capsules  are  opening. 
This  is  rarely  practiced,  since  they  are  so  readily  grown 
from  cuttings. 

Occasionally  during  a  long  wet  fall  some  autumn- , 
ripening  seeds  may  germinate  before  spring.  In  the 
woodlot,  providing  mice  and  squirrels  are  not  numerous, 
seeds  of  this  kind  may  be  left  on  the  ground  until  spring. 
Seeds  ripening  in  the  fall  that  are  collected  for  spring 
planting  must  be  kept  under  conditions  as  nearly  approach- 
ing the  natural  conditions  under  the  tree  as  is  possible. 
It  is  a  safe  rule  that  all  such  seeds  as  acorns,  chestnuts 
and  walnuts  must  be  kept  moist  until  planting  time, 
while  such  seeds  as  the  pines  and  spruces  may  be  kept  air 
dry. 

Seeds  from  coniferous  trees  are  always  collected  in  the 
cones.  Seed  trees  should  be  located  during  midsummer  by 
the  presence  of  full-grown  cones  and  then  frequently 
examined  as  to  the  ripeness  of  the  seed.  This  may  be  done 
by  obtaining  a  green  cone  and  cutting  it  longitudinally  so 
as  to  expose  the  seed  for  examination.  As  a  rule,  the  seed 
in  the  cones  is  ripe,  while  on  the  outside  the  cones  still  ap- 
pear green.  As  soon  as  the  seeds  are  plump  and  fleshy  and 
brown  on  the  outside,  the  cones  must  be  collected.  They 
may  be  picked  off  the  branches  and  placed  in  bags.  They 
are  then  thoroughly  dried  by  spreading  out  on  screens  in 


110  The  Farm  Woodlot 

the  sunshine,  or  by  artificial  heat.  This  drying  causes  the 
cone-scales  to  separate  and  the  seeds  may  then  readily  be 
shaken  out.  After  all  the  seed  has  been  obtained  from  the 
cones,  the  wings  should  be  rubbed  off  and  the  seed  sepa- 
rated by  fanning.  This  seed  is  then  best  kept  over 
winter  in  its  natural  dry  state.  On  the  farm  it  is  very 
well  kept  by  placing  in  a  bag  and  suspending  from  a  rafter 
or  a  joist  in  some  out-building  safe  from  mice,  and  where 
the  inside  temperature  is  the  same  as  outside.  Seeds 
kept  this  way  are  ready  for  planting  the  following  spring, 
either  in  the  seed-bed  or  in  the  woodlot. 

Storing  seeds  over  winter.  —  Seeds  of  the  conifers  are 
kept  over  winter  as  described  above.  Also  seeds  of  the 
birches,  the  sugar  maple  and  the  basswood  may  be  kept 
in  the  same  way,  but  they  are  likely  to  lose  a  consider- 
able percentage  of  their  vitality.  Heavy  seeds  like 
acorns  and  chestnuts  must  be  kept  moist,  and  this  is 
accomplished  best  by  stratifying  in  moist  sand.  For 
the  woodlot  owner,  the  process  of  stratifying  is  very 
simple,  since  the  variety  and  the  amount  of  seed  is  usually 
small. 

Stratifying  consists  of  alternating  thin  layers  of  seed 
with  layers  of  moist  sand  in  a  box  or  pit  so  that  all  the 
seeds  may  remain  moist.  For  small  quantities  this  is 
best  done  in  a  box.  Place  a  layer  of  wet  sand  a  few  inches 
thick  in  the  bottom  of  the  box,  then  a  similar  layer  of  seed, 
followed  by  another  of  sand  and  a  layer  of  seed,  and  so  on 
until  all  are  stratified.  Small  seeds  that  may  become 
badly  mixed  with  wet  sand  are  better  tied  into  loose 
packages  made  of  cheesecloth,  or  any  thin  cloth,  and  these 
packages  then  packed  in  sand.  This  keeps  the  small  seeds 


Practical  Sylviculture  111 

clean  and  prevents  the  sand  from  becoming  mixed  with 
them.  In  this  way  any  small  seeds  like  the  birch  may  be 
kept  perfectly  fresh  and  clean.  The  box  containing  the 
seed  must  then  be  buried  one  or  two  feet  in  the  ground 
in  a  well-drained,  moist  place.  In  stratifying  seeds, 
it  is  best  to  imitate  natural  conditions  as  nearly  as  possi- 
ble. Large  quantities  may  be  stratified  in  a  pit  instead 
of  in  a  box. 

Planting  seed  in  the  nursery  and  in  the  woodlot.  —  Seeds 
ripening  in  the  spring  and  early  summer  may  be  sown  in 
the  nursery  at  once,  or  may  be  sown  directly  in  the  wood- 
lot.  It  is  well  to  keep  in  mind  at  all  times  the  fact  that 
trees  that  produce  very  tender  and  delicate  seedlings, 
until  they  become  three  or  four  years  old,  had  better  be 
grown  in  the  nursery  for  a  few  years,  while  sturdy,  stocky 
seedlings  with  deep  roots  had  best  be  planted  in  the  wood- 
lot  at  once.  Seeds  of  trees  that  early  in  life  form  a  long 
tap-root  should  be  plantecl  in  the  woodlot  directly,  since 
the  difficulty  and  the  expense  of  planting  seedlings  of  this 
kind  becomes  too  great  and  the  loss  of  seedlings  is  likely  to 
result. 

It  follows  then  that  seeds  of  the  pines,  spruces,  and  the 
like,  and  in  some  cases  the  elm,  the  silver  and  the  red 
maple  should  be  sown  in  the  nursery  and  when  large  enough 
planted  in  the  woodlot.  Seeds  of  the  oak,  walnut,  beech, 
chestnut  and  hickory,  producing  a  sturdy  seedling,  may  be 
placed  directly  in  the  woodlot  by  planting  stratified  seeds. 
Planting  must  be  done  in  the  early  spring  as  soon  as  the 
ground  is  clear  of  frost. 

The  woodlot  owner  can  readily  decide  whether  it  is 
advisable  to  collect  the  seed  in  his  own  woodlot,  or  in  a 


112  The  Farm  Woodlot 

neighboring  one,  and  grow  his  own  planting  stock,  or  buy 
directly  from  a  reputable  nurseryman.  There  is  a  con- 
siderable saving  of  time  by  purchasing  planting  stock. 
From  one  to  four  years  can  be  gained  in  the  growth  of 
the  trees  by  doing  this.  It  also  may  not  be  necessary  or 
advantageous  for  the  woodlot  owner  to  grow  his  own 
planting  stock.  When  nursery  stock  is  purchased,  the 
woodlot  owner  should  engage  from  a  reliable  nurseryman 
the  right  kind  of  stock  the  fall  previous  to  the  time  of 
planting  so  as  to  be  sure  to  have  the  material  on  hand  at 
the  proper  time.  When  it  is  desirable  to  establish  a 
small  farm  nursery  and  to  grow  planting  stock,  the  wood- 
lot  owner  will  find  it  very  instructive  and  highly  satis- 
factory to  do  so.  The  following  instructions  will  serve  as 
a  guide  in  establishing  and  caring^for  a  small  nursery  to 
supply  planting  material  for  the  average  woodlot. 

THE    FARM   NURSERY 

Most  woodlots  have  coniferous  and  broadleaf  trees. 
The  trees  in  these  two  groups  differ  considerably  in  their 
hardiness  and  in  their  rate  of  growth  during  the  first  two 
or  three  years.  This  difference  calls  for  varied  methods 
in  nursery  practice.  Pines,  spruces,  and  the  like,  require 
partial  shade  during  the  first  and  sometimes  the  second 
season.  Oaks,  elms,  maples,  and  so  on,  will  grow  without 
shade  from  the  start.  Each  of  these  groups  will  be  treated 
separately. 

Growing  coniferous  seedlings 

Nursery  site. — A  convenient  location  should  be  selected 
in  which  the  soil  is  a  moderately  fertile,  sandy  loam,  free 


Practical  Sylviculture  113 

from  weeds  and  stones  and  well  drained.  A  nursery 
location  in  which  the  soil  is  poor  may  readily  be  made 
suitable  by  improving  the  soil  and  preparing  as  for  a 
garden.  The  average  sized  farm-woodlot  does  not  call 
for  a  great  many  seedlings  at  any  one  time,  so  that  when 
only  a  few  thousand  seedlings  are  required,  a  part  of  the 
vegetable  garden  may  oftentimes  be  set  aside  for  this 
purpose.  When  this  is  not  practicable,  the  site  should  be 
chosen  in  which  there  is  no  danger  of  disturbance  from 
the  farm  stock,  from  rabbits  and  mice,  and  as  far  from  bird 
attractions  as  possible.  Usually  water  is  necessary  at 
some  time  of  the  growing  season,  so  that  the  water  supply 
should  be  near  at  hand  in  case  of  severe  and  prolonged 
dry  weather. 

Preparing  the  seed-beds.  —  There  need  be  no  difference 
whatever  in  the  preparation  of  the  soil  for  growing  seed- 
lings from  that  of  an  onion  or  a  lettuce  bed.  When  it  is 
not  practicable  to  plow  the  ground,  it  may  be  spaded  and 
thoroughly  raked  and  the  soil  pulverized  and  reduced  to  a 
smooth  surface.  The  most  satisfactory  width  for  seed- 
beds is  four  feet.  This  enables  one  to  reach  readily  all 
parts  of  the  bed  for  weeding  and  transplanting  purposes 
and  also  to  use  ordinary  building  lath  for  shade  screens. 
The  seed-beds  may  be  any  length.  When  several  beds 
are  made  up  side  by  side,  there  should  be  a  path  two  feet 
wide  between  them,  and  if  the  ground  is  sloping,  the  beds 
should  run  at  right  angles  to  the  slope.  If  the  soil  is  rich 
and  inclined  to  be  moist,  the  beds  should  be  raised  about 
four  or  more  inches  above  this  path.  On  dry  or  sandy 
soil,  the  beds  should  be  on  the  same  level  as  the  path. 
The  laying-out  of  the  seed-beds  may  be  such  as  to  suit 


114 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


any  special  requirement  on  any  location  in  which  it  is 
desirable  and  practicable  to  grow  seedlings. 

Planting  the  seed.  —  Coniferous  seed  may  be  sown  either 
broadcast  or  in  drills.  Each  method  has  its  advantages. 
In  case  the  seeds  are  sown  in  drills,  these  drills  should  run 
across  the  beds  and  about  four  inches  apart.  Double 


FIG.  29.  —  Sowing  evergreen  seed-beds.     Note  supports  for  shade  frames. 

drills  are  sometimes  advised,  i.e.  two  rows  about  an  inch 
apart  with  a  six-inch  space  between  the  double  drills. 
Sowing  in  this  manner  facilitates  weeding,  since  an  ordi- 
nary hand-weeder  can  be  used.  Broadcast  seeding  makes 
it  necessary  to  pick  the  weeds  with  the  fingers,  but  in  a 
short  time  the  seedlings  will  fairly  well  crowd  out  the  weeds. 
Sowing  seed  in  drills  may  be  carried  on  as  follows  :  A  wide 
board  four  feet  long,  having  fastened  on  one  side  small, 
three-sided  strips  the  required  distance  apart,  is  a  con- 


Practical  Sylviculture  115 

venient  implement  for  marking  the  drills  by  pressing  this 
board,  strips  down,  on  the  top  of  the  bed.  Handles  fastened 
to  the  top  of  the  board  facilitate  its  use,  since  it  may  be 
handled  easier.  The  seeds  are  sown  in  the  marks  of  these 
three-cornered  strips,  after  which  they  are  lightly  covered. 
In  sowing  seed  broadcast,  it  is  best,  after  the  required 
amount  is  decided  upon,  to  mark  off  the  bed  in  small 
areas  about  a  foot  square,  either  by  stretching  strings,  or 
by  marking  it  lightly  with  a  stick  and  sowing  one  square  at 
a  time.  For  example,  if  a  certain  amount  of  seed  is  to 
be  sown  on  twenty-four  such  squares,  then  one-twenty- 
fourth  of  the  seed  should  be  taken  and  sown  in  one  square 
and  so  on  until  all  are  sown.  This  is  merely  an  aid  to  an 
even  distribution  of  the  seed.  The  depth  to  which  a  seed 
should  be  planted  depends  somewhat  on  the  size.  As  a 
general  rule,  they  should  not  be  covered  any  deeper  than 
twice  their  own  thickness.  It  is  a  very  easy  matter  to 
plant  the  seeds  too  deep,  which  will  cause  them  to  germi- 
nate unevenly.  After  the  seed  is  sown,  it  is  best  covered 
by  sifting  fine  earth  upon  it  with  a  hand  sieve  until  all  is 
covered,  then  pressed  down  or  lightly  rolled  so  as  to  firm 
the  seed  in  the  soil.  If  the  ground  is  dry,  it  may  then  be 
lightly  sprinkled.  (Fig.  30.) 

How  much  seed  to  use.  —  The  quantity  of  seed  required 
depends  on  the  kind  and  the  amount  that  will  grow.  It 
is  always  best  to  test  the  seed  by  cutting  a  certain  number 
and  examining  them.  In  this  way  a  certain  percentage  of 
good  and  bad  can  be  established.  One  ounce  of  good  white- 
pine  seed  will  be  sufficient  for  about  thirty  linear  feet  of 
drills,  while  smaller  seed  like  the  Norway  spruce  will  sow 
about  seventy  feet  of  drill.  In  broadcast  seeding,  about 


116 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


two  and  a  half  or  three  seeds,  on  the  average,  to  the  square 
inch  should  be  sown.  For  white  pine,  this  would  require 

one  pound  for  60  to 
80  square  feet,  or  a 
bed  4  feet  wide  and 
from  15  to  20  feet 
long. 

Protecting  the  seed 
in  the  seed-bed.  —  In 
locations  in  which 
mice,  squirrels  and 
birds  are  very  nu- 
merous, it  is  neces- 
sary carefully  to  pro- 
tect seed  in  the 
beds.  Squirrels  that 
burrow  in  the  ground 
are  particularly 
troublesome  and  it 
is  necessary,  in  order 
to  keep  them  out,  to 
inclose  the  beds  with 
wire  netting  not 
larger  than  a  half- 
inch  mesh,  allowing 
the  netting  to  ex- 
tend downward 

eight  or  ten  inches  below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  It 
is  also  necessary  to  cover  the  beds  over  the  top  with  the 
same  style  of  netting.  The  top  netting  may  be  removed 
as  soon  as  the  seedlings  are  a  few  weeks  old.  Squirrels 


FIG.  30.  —  Sprinkling  sand  on  a  newly  sown 
seed-bed. 


Practical  Sylviculture  117 

and  mice  do  very  little  damage  after  the  seeds  have  come 
up,  but  birds,  particularly  the  seed-eating  sparrows,  such 
as  the  field  and  song  sparrow,  will  eat  the  seeds  and  will 
also  destroy  the  tender  seedlings,  while  they  still  retain 
the  seed  coat  on  the  cotyledons.  It  is  customary  to  coat 
seeds  of  this  kind  with  red  lead  mixed  in  water.  This 
does  not  injure  the  seed,  but  destroys  their  attractiveness 
for  birds  and  squirrels.  As  soon  as  the  seed  is  sown,  the 
bed  should  be  sprinkled  lightly  and  then  covered  with 
a  light  mulch.  This  is  best  done  by  spreading  burlap,  or 
a  strip  of  muslin,  on  the  seed-bed  and  upon  this  placing 
a  mulch  of  leaves,  or  any  material  that  will  keep  the 
bed  from  drying  out.  Just  as  soon  as  the  seedlings 
appear  above  the  surface,  this  mulch  must  be  removed 
so  as  to  give  them  light  and  air. 

Protecting  the  seedlings.  —  During  the  first  three  or  four 
weeks,  coniferous  seedlings  are  very  subject  during  damp 
weather  to  a  disease  known  as  "  damping  off,"  which  in  a 
very  short  time  will  cause  them  to  wilt  and  die.  This 
usually  can  be  prevented  by  regulating  the  moisture  and 
by  thoroughly  ventilating  the  beds  after  heavy  rains  and 
during  humid  weather.  Partial  shade  must  be  provided. 
This  is  best  and  most  economically  done  by  making  shade 
screens  four  feet  square  from  ordinary  building  lath. 
These  screens  are  so  made  as  to  produce  half  shade.  Two 
strips  of  lath  are  used  as  cross-pieces  and  upon  them  the 
lath  are  nailed  with  spaces  equal  to  their  own  width 
between  them.  These  lath  screens  are  then  placed  on  a 
frame  by  driving  stakes  at  intervals  around  the  edge  of 
the  bed  and  about  18  inches  out  of  the  ground,  joined  by 
board  strips  upon  which  these  lath  screens  are  supported. 


118  The  Farm  Woodlot 

The  screens  must  be  kept  on  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  first  season,  particularly  during  warm  days,  but  may 
be  removed  for  a  short  time  morning  and  evening  and  on 
cloudy  days.  In  the  second  year  these  shade  screens 
usually  are  not  required.  Weeds  must  be  carefully  picked 
out  and  the  beds  kept  clean.  In  dry  weather  the 
seedlings  must  be  sprinkled,  preferably  in  the  evening. 

Preparation  for  winter.  —  Late  in  the  fall,  usually  after 
the  ground  is  frozen  and  several  inches  of  snow  have 
fallen,  the  seedlings  should  be  mulched.  The  beds  con- 
taining the  seedlings  should  be  covered  with  a  layer  of 
leaves,  straw  or  hay,  upon  which  the  lath  should  be  placed 
to  prevent  the  wind  from  removing  the  mulch.  This 
mulch  should  remain  until  the  following  spring  when  all 
danger  from  frost  is  past,  and  should  be  removed  just 
before  growth  begins.  A  good  mulch  will  prevent  alter- 
nate freezing  and  thawing  and  heaving  out  of  the  seedlings. 

Transplanting.  —  Seedlings  of  the  eastern  conifers  are 
small  and  rather  delicate,  as  a  rule,  in  the  first  and  some- 
times in  the  second  year.  In  the  woodlot  in  which  condi- 
tions are  trying,  very  young  and  tender  seedlings  involve 
a  risk  in  planting,  so  that  better  results  are  secured  by 
using  transplanted  seedlings.  One-year-old  seedlings  may 
be  taken  out  of  the  seed-bed,  planted  in  another  bed 
in  rows  about  four  inches  apart  and  about  two  inches 
apart  in  the  row.  Transplanting  has  the  advantage  of 
improving  the  root  system,  making  it  more  compact  and 
fibrous.  In  case  one  transplanting  is  insufficient,  the 
seedlings  may  be  twice  transplanted,  or  in  exceptional 
cases  three  times.  Seedlings  may  be  transplanted  at  the 
beginning  of  the  second  season  when  they  are  one  year 


Practical  Sylviculture  119 

old,  or  at  the  beginning  of  the  third  season  when  they  are  two 
years  old.  In  case  one-year-old  seedlings  are  transplanted, 
it  usually  is  necessary  to  provide  them  with  partial  shade 
for  at  least  part  of  the  summer.  Two-year-old  seedlings 
will  not  require  shade.  Transplanting  adds  to  the 
cost  of  the  seedlings,  and  for  average  conditions  two-year- 
old  seedlings  untransplanted  furnish  the  most  desirable 
planting  stock.  Transplanting  must  be  done  in  the  early 
spring  before  growth  begins.  The  woodlot  owner  may  use 
transplant-beds  made  up  similar  to  seed-beds,  and  the 
seedlings  planted  as  noted  above.  Planting  may  be  done 
in  rows  at  such  distances  apart  as  is  most  convenient  for 
cultivation,  depending  on  whether  cultivation  is  by  hand  or 
with  a  cultivator.  For  a  small  number  of  seedlings,  a 
regular  four-foot  bed  with  close  planting  is  most  economical. 
In  transplanting  operations,  it  is  most  imperative  that  the 
roots  of  the  seedlings  are  kept  moist  at  all  times,  since  a 
small  amount  of  drying  will  prove  fatal.  Transplanting 
operations  are  best  practiced  in  cloudy  days  and  even 
in  misty  or  rainy  days,  providing  the  soil  is  not  too  wet. 
In  sunny  or  windy  weather,  the  roots  must  be  covered  with 
wet  moss  or  burlap  as  soon  as  taken  from  the  ground. 
Any  other  material  that  will  protect  them  from  the  air 
and  sunshine  and  keep  them  moist  may  be  used.  They 
must  be  kept  in  this  condition  until  they  are  placed  in  the 
transplant  beds. 

Growing   broadleaf  seedlings  in  the  farm  nursery 

Since  the  seedlings  of  the  broadleaf  trees  are  very 
hardy  and  rapid  growing,  as  a  rule,  the  seeds  may  be 
planted  directly  in  nursery  rows  in  well-prepared  ground. 


120  The  Farm  Woodlot 

These  rows  may  be  as  far  apart  as  is  desirable,  depending 
on  the  method  of  weeding  and  cultivation  which  it  is 
expected  to  use.  No  shade-frames  are  necessary,  but  it 
may  be  advisable  to  locate  the  nursery  in  the  protection  of 
large  trees  or  farm  buildings. 

Broadleaf  tree  seeds.  —  Most  broadleaf  tree  seeds,  if 
stratified  during  the  winter,  will  be  in  excellent  condition 
for  germination  the  following  spring,  and  they  should  be 
planted  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  free  from  frost  and  dry 
enough  for  working.  Very  hard-shell  seeds,  such  as  the 
black  and  honey  locust,  frequently  remain  in  the  ground 
until  the  beginning  of  the  second  season  before  they 
grow.  This  tardiness  in  growing  can  be  remedied  by 
soaking  the  seeds  in  hot  water.  Immerse  the  seeds  in  a 
quantity  of  water  heated  to  180°  F.  and  allow  them  to  cool 
and  remain  for  a  day  or  two.  If  the  seeds  still  seem  very 
hard  and  show  little  benefit,  they  should  receive  a  second 
treatment.  The  water  must  not  be  too  hot,  and  a  safe 
rule  to  follow  is  to  heat  it  to  the  point  at  which  it  is  too  hot 
for  the  naked  hand.  Seed  thus  treated  must  be  planted 
immediately  in  order  that  the  seed  may  remain  moist, 
since  drying  out  would  very  readily  kill  it.  Seeds  that 
have  been  stratified  over  winter  must  be  planted  as  soon 
as  removed  from  the  moist  sand.  Seeds  maturing  in 
early  summer,  like  the  elms,  must  be  planted  as  soon  as 
collected. 

Planting  the  seeds.  —  As  mentioned  above,  it  is  best  to 
plant  the  seeds  of  broadleaf  trees  in  long  rows.  When 
only  a  few  hundred  are  grown,  it  is  better  to  place  the 
rows  about  a  foot  apart  and  depend  on  hand  cultiva- 
tion ;  however,  they  may  be  grown  along  with  a  field  crop 


Practical  Sylviculture  121 

and  cultivated  with  a  horse  cultivator.  As  a  rule,  however, 
the  tree  seeds  must  be  planted  earlier  than  the  agricul- 
tural crops,  so  that  it  is  better  to  use  a  separate  location. 
The  seeds  should  be  planted  in  much  the  same  manner  as 
peas  or  beans,  placing  the  seed  in  the  ground  to  a  depth  of 
about  twice  its  own  thickness.  If  all  the  seeds  are  good, 
seeds  like  those  of  the  oaks  should  be  placed  about  one 
or  two  inches  apart  in  a  row.  Elm,  maple,  basswood,  and 
so  on,  should  be  sown  three  or  four  deep,  since  a  consider- 
able number  of  such  seeds  will  not  grow.  Water  must  be 
available  in  case  of  dry  seasons.  Germination  may  be 
hastened  and  result  more  evenly  if  a  straw  or  leaf  mulch  is 
applied  as  soon  as  the  seeds  are  planted.  Careful  culti- 
vation and  the  keeping  out  of  all  weeds  is  necessary. 

Transplanting.  —  As  a  rule,  hardwood  seedlings  are 
large  enough  to  plant  into  the  permanent  site  when  one 
year  old,  but  when  it  is  desirable  to  keep  them  for  another 
year  or  two  in  the  nursery,  they  should  be  transplanted  in 
rows  wide  enough  to  admit  of  horse  cultivation.  Trans- 
planting operations  depend  to  some  extent  on  the  nature  of 
the  root  system.  Many  broadleaf  trees  produce  heavy 
tap-roots,  even  during  the  first  year.  When  these  trees 
are  left  in  the  nursery  without  transplanting,  this  root 
becomes  so  large  that  the  transplanting  operation  be- 
comes a  difficult  as  well  as  an  expensive  one.  Seedlings 
.  of  this  kind,  when  transplanted  in  the  nursery,  should  have 
the  roots  well  pruned,  since  this  will  congest  the  root 
system  and  make  it  more  fibrous.  While  these  seedlings 
are  very  young,  alternate  freezing  and  thawing  during  the 
fall  and  winter  may  heave  them  out  of  the  earth,  so  that 
for  the  first  year  or  two  it  is  advisable  to  use  a  winter 


122  The  Farm  Woodlot 

mulch,  consisting  of  straw  or  leaves  applied  as  soon  as  the 
ground  is  frozen,  and  preferably  on  top  of  a  few  inches  of 
snow.  This  mulch  prevents  alternate  thawing  and 
freezing  and  should  be  removed  in  the  spring  as  soon  as 
freezing  conditions  are  over. 

Expenses.  —  The  cost  of  seedlings  grown  in  the  farm 
nursery  usually  can  be  made  very  insignificant,  since  the 
work  can  be  done  at  odd  times  in  the  evening  or  morning, 
at  no  time  occupying  more  than  a  few  hours,  so  that  along 
with  the  regular 'farm  work  the  care  for  a  small  nursery 
would  scarcely  be  noticed.  On  the  average  farm  there  is 
usually  spare  time  and  labor  that  can  be  used  for  such 
purposes.  The  equipment,  in  case  wire  netting  is  neces- 
sary, together  with  lath,  stakes,  and  so  on,  need  cost  but 
very  little.  Seed,  whether  collected  or  purchased,  in  the 
case  of  conifers  will  range  from  75^  to  S3  a  pound; 
in  case  of  hardwoods  or  broadleaf  trees  from  10^  to  $1 
a  pound.  In  case  planting  stock  is  purchased,  one-year- 
old  coniferous  seedlings  may  be  obtained  for  about  $1  a 
thousand.  Transplanting  always  increases  the  cost,  and, 
as  a  rule,  transplants  cost  about  twice  as  much  as  seedlings. 
The  cost  of  broadleaf  seedlings  will  vary  with  the  species 
and  the  size  from  about  50^  to  $2  a  hundred.  From 
the  standpoint  of  economy,  it  is  far  more  economical  to 
establish  a  small  nursery  and  to  grow  planting  material, 
except  when  labor  must  be  hired  to  carry  on  the  work. 
In  the  latter  case,  it  would  be  better  to  purchase  planting 
stock  from  a  reliable  nursery. 


Practical  Sylviculture 


123 


SPRING   OPERATIONS   IN   THE   FARM   NURSERY 

When  the  seedlings  in  the  farm  nursery  are  old  enough 
to  be  planted  into  the  permanent  site,  they  must  be  taken 
from  the  seed-beds,  or  nursery  rows,  in  the  early  spring  as 
soon  as  the  frost  is  out  of  the  ground  and  before  the  growth 


FIG.  31.  —  Lifting  and  counting  seedlings  in  nursery. 

is  started.  Pine  or  any  small  spruce  seedlings  are  best 
lifted  from  the  beds  with  a  spade,  since  the  spade  can  be 
forced  into  the  ground  well  below  the  roots,  lifting  them 
out  entire.  They  must  then  be  carefully  separated  from 
the  soil,  leaving  the  roots  clean.  They  are  sorted  into 
sizes  —  usually  two  —  tied  in  bundles  of  fifty  or  a  hundred 


124 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


and  packed  into  a  basket  or  box  containing  wet  sand,  moss, 
burlap  or  some  similar  substance.      (Fig.  31.) 

In  case  the  planting  is  done  sometime  after  the  seed- 
lings are  taken  from  the  seed-beds,  these  bundles  of  seed- 


FIQ.  32.  —  Seedlings  heeled-in  awaiting  planting  or  shipment. 


lings  should  be  carefully  heeled-in.  The  process  of  heeling- 
in  consists  of  planting  the  bundles  of  seedlings  in  a  solid 
row  in  a  trench  deep  enough  to  receive  the  bundles  up  to 
where  the  leaves  begin,  packing  the  bundles  in  very  firmly 
and  tramping  the  soil  around  them  with  the  heel  so  as  to 


Practical  Sylviculture  125 

close  up  all  air  spaces.  (Figs.  32-33.)  Heeling-in  should 
be  done  preferably  in  a  shaded  and  protected  place. 
During  an  early  spring  when  seedlings  start  to  grow 
before  it  is  convenient  to  plant  them,  their  growth  may 
be  retarded  by  lifting  and  heeling  them  in.  When  plant- 


FIG.  33.  —  Heeling-in  evergreen  seedlings. 

ing  follows  immediately  after  the  lifting  of  the  seedlings, 
they  should  be  taken  from  the  nursery  to  the  planting 
site,  packed  in  boxes  or  pails  so  as  to  remain  always 
moist.  When  the  planting  takes  place  after  the  seed- 
lings have  been  heeled-in,  they  should  be  removed  from 
the  trench  as  fast  as  needed,  packed  and  transferred  to 
the  planting  site  as  before.  Great  caution  should  be 
exercised  to  keep  the  roots  wet  at  all  times. 


126  The  Farm  Woodlot 

Broadleaf  seedlings  are  not  so  delicate,  and  although  it 
is  necessary  to  use  care  in  exposing  the  roots,  a  small 
amount  of  drying  usually  does  not  seriously  injure  them. 
They  may  be  taken  to  the  planting  site  in  bundles  with  the 
roots  wrapped  in  burlap,  or  anything  that  will  keep  them 
moist.  When  planting  stock  purchased  from  a  nursery 
arrives  at  a  time  inconvenient  for  immediate  planting, 
then  the  seedlings  should  be  removed  from  the  package 
in  which  they  were  shipped  and  carefully  heeled-in 
until  planting  time. 

Field  planting  of  farm  nursery  stock.     Fig.  34 

Planting  in  the  field  demands  a  variety  of  methods, 
the  simplest  being  the  planting  of  a  clear  area  or  field. 
Usually  there  are  only  parts  of  the  woodlot,  small  open 
areas  and  spaces  between  the  trees,  in  which  it  is  desirable 
to  plant.  When  this  is  the  case,  no  regular  system  can  or 
need  be  followed  out.  The  seedlings  may  be  set  at  random, 
so  long  as  they  are  spaced  about  six  feet  from  one  another 
and  placed  where  they  are  certain  to  have  an  opportunity 
to  grow.  In  an  open  area,  lines  of  stakes  should  be  set, 
three  or  four  in  a  row,  to  serve  as  a  guide  for  a  planting 
crew.  In  most  cases,  it  is  sufficient  to  have  two  men  in  a 
crew,  one  man  to  carry  the  seedlings  in  a  pail  or  basket 
with  some  wet  material  covered  over  the  roots,  and  to 
plant  the  seedlings ;  the  other  man  to  be  provided  with 
a  mattock  or  grub  hoe  with  which  to  dig  a  suitable  hole. 
Two  men  working  together  can  carry  on  the  work  very 
rapidly  and  efficiently.  As  soon  as  the  hole  is  dug,  the 
planting  man  takes  a  seedling  from  the  pail  or  basket, 
plants  it  immediately  in  the  fresh  earth,  setting  the  seed- 


Practical  Sylviculture 


127 


ling  a  little  deeper  than  it  stood  in  the  seed-bed,  spreading 
the  roots  as  much  as  possible,  sprinkling  over  them  soft, 
clean  earth,  pressing  it  down  firmly  with  the  hand,  filling 
up  the  entire  opening  and  then  firming  thoroughly  with 
the  heel.  With  a  little  practice  this  operation  need 
require  less  than  a  minute's  time.  When  the  soil  is 


FIG.  34.  —  Planting  evergreen  seedlings  under  shade  of  birches. 

clear  from  stones  and  roots,  one  stroke  of  the  mattock  will 
open  a  large  enough  hole  to  receive  a  two-year-old  seedling. 
By  pulling  slightly  on  the  handle  of  the  mattock,  the  open- 
ing will  be  made  large  enough  to  receive  the  roots  of  a 
seedling  before  the  mattock  is  removed.  When  the 
mattock  is  taken  away,  the  seedling  is  in  its  place  and  a 
little  thorough  tamping  with  the  heel  will  firm  the  earth 
sufficiently. 

The  most  desirable  spacing  for  all  woodlot  purposes 


128  The  Farm  Woodlot 

is  about  6X6  feet.  As  soon  as  one  seedling  has  been 
planted,  the  man  with  the  mattock  advances  in  the  line 
of  the  stakes  two  full  paces,  or  what  to  him  would  be  six 
feet,  planting  another  seedling  and  progressing  in  this 
manner  until  the  end  of  the  line  is  reached.  When  more 
than  one  planting  crew,  for  instance  five  or  six,  are  working 
at  the  same  time,  the  crew  following  the  staked-out  line 
should  always  be  one  space  ahead  of  the  crew  on  the  next 
line.  The  crew  on  the  second  line  should  be  one  space 
ahead  of  the  crew  on  the  third  line,  so  that  the  front  pre- 
sented by  the  planting  crew's  progress  is  across  the  field  in 
a  diagonal  line,  or  diagonally  abreast.  Only  one  line  of 
stakes  is  necessary  for  the  first  crew  to  follow.  The 
other  crews  take  their  distance  six  feet  ahead  in  line  and 
six  feet  at  right  angles  from  the  seedling  planted  im- 
mediately ahead  of  them  in  the  opposite  row.  It  is 
desirable,  when  convenient,  to  do  planting  of  this  kind 
during  cloudy  weather,  since  not  so  much  care  is  necessary 
in  protecting  the. seedlings.  A  good  supply  of  wet  moss 
or  burlap,  or  whatever  is  most  convenient  to  use,  should 
be  on  hand  at  the  planting  site  so  that  at  no  time  may  the 
seedlings  in  the  pail  or  basket  become  dry. 

Broadleaf  seedlings  may  be  planted  in  the  same  manner, 
but  as  a  rule,  since  they  are  larger  and  have  longer  roots, 
it  requires  more  care  in  setting  them.  When  it  is  prac- 
ticable, furrows  six  feet  apart  may  be  thrown  and  the 
seedlings  planted  in  the  bottom  of  the  furrow,  using  the 
earth  turned  out  by  the  plow  for  covering  the  roots. 
Two.  men,  after  some  practice,  should  plant  from  1200- 
1600  coniferous  seedlings  in  a  day,  and,  in  the  case  of  the 
hardwood  seedlings,  from  half  to  three-quarters  as  many, 


Practical  Sylviculture  129 

since  more  time  is  required  for  digging  and  setting  the 
plants.  Spacing  6X6  feet  requires  1210  trees  to  the 
acre,  so  that  two  men  working  together  should  plant  from 
three-quarters  of  an  acre  to  one  acre  of  broadleaf  seedlings 
and  from  one  to  approximately  one  and  one-half  acres  of 
conifers.  The  cost  of  planting  depends  on  the  skill  of  the 
planters,  and  on  local  wages.  When  workmen  can  be 
obtained  for  $2  a  day,  coniferous  planting  should  not 
cost  more  than  $3  or  $4  to  the  acre,  while  broadleaf 
planting  will  cost  proportionately  more. 

Treatment  after  planting  in  the  farm  nursery 

It  is  always  advisable  to  care  for  a  plantation  until 
the  trees  have  grown  to  such  a  size  that  they  may  take 
care  of  themselves.  Small  seedlings  may  be  choked  by  a 
rank  growth  of  grass,  weeds  and  brush.  Farm  stock, 
particularly  cattle,  must  be  kept  out,  since  they  will  nip 
off  the  tops  of  the  seedlings  as  well  as  destroy  many  of 
them  by  trampling.  It  is  always  advisable  to  exclude  all 
stock  from  the  permanent  woodlot  and  particularly  from 
plantations.  In  a  short  time  a  few  cattle  may  destroy  an 
entire  plantation,  thus  losing  several  years  of  work  and 
effort.  It  may  be  advisable,  when  possible,  to  cultivate 
the  plantation  with  a  horse  cultivator  for  a  few  years  to 
keep  down  weeds  and  grasses,  and  as  soon  as  the  trees 
become  large  enough  to  crowd  each  other  and  interfere 
with  their  growth,  thinnings  should  be  carried  on.  Instruc- 
tions for  thinning  and  improvement  work  will  be  given 
under  a  separate  chapter. 


130  The  Farm  Woodlot 

WOODLOT   PLANTATIONS   IN   MIXTURE 

When  it  becomes  necessary  to  establish  a  new  woodlot 
by  planting,  then  it  may  be  desirable  to  plant  two  or 
more  species  in  mixture.  A  clear  distinction  must 
be  made  between  woodlot  plantations  and  wind- 
break plantations.  The  former  are  made  primarily  for 
the  production  of  fuel  and  farm  timber  rather  than  for 
protection,  and  species  are  selected  that  meet  these  require- 
ments. For  windbreak  plantations,  the  prime  object  is 
to  afford  an  effective  barrier  against  the  force  of  the  wind, 
and  trees  are  selected  with  reference  to  their  vigor,  size, 
density  of  crown  and  immunity  from  climatic  injuries 
rather  than  to  the  quantity  and  quality  of  wood  produced. 
It  sometimes  is  convenient  to  have  the  woodlot  serve  as  a 
windbreak  for  the  farmstead,  but  as  a  rule  profitable  wood- 
lot  species  are  poor  windbreak  trees. 

Mixtures  suitable  for  general  prairie  planting  where  con- 
ditions vary  from  sub-arid  to  river-bottom  lands 

For  planting  a  woodlot  the  following  mixtures  are 
suggested  as  useful  ones  : 

I.  Green  ash  and  hackberry  4X4  feet,  the  species 
alternating    in    rows.     Hackberry   will    crowd    the    ash, 
causing  it  to  produce  good  height  growth.     At  the  same 
time  it  will  furnish  some  fuel  from  the  thinnings.     The 
hackberry  should  be   removed  as   soon  as   it  begins  to 
interfere  and  cause  any  injury  to  the  ash,  leaving  the  ash 
spaced  regularly  8X8  feet. 

II.  Green  ash  and  white  elm  6X6  feet  in  equal  mixture 
alternating  in  rows.     The  elm  forces  the  ash  into  well- 


Practical  Sylviculture  131 

formed  trees  and  should  be  removed  as  soon  as  the  stand 
becomes  too  dense,  yielding  considerable  fuel.  This 
mixture  is  suitable  to  soil  slightly  better  than  No.  I. 

III.  Burr  oak  and  hackberry  4X4  feet.     These  species 
are  very  hardy,  but  of  slow  growth.     Close  planting  is  ad- 
vised, to  shade  the  ground  as  soon  as  possible.      When 
crowding  begins,  thinning  should  commence  with  the  hack- 
berry,  leaving  the  oak  for  the  final  crop.     This  mixture  is 
suitable  for  very  poor,  comparatively  dry  soil. 

IV.  White  elm  and  black    locust    6X6  feet.     The 
locust  grows  more  rapidly  than  the  elm  and  can  be  ex- 
pected to  furnish  posts  and  fuel  in  a  comparatively  short 
time.     The  elm  will  shade  the  ground,  keep  out  grasses 
and  maintain  fairly  good  conditions.     Thinning  may  be 
made  in  both  the  elm  and  the  locust. 

V.  Boxelder  and  cottonwood  in  equal  mixture  4X4 
feet.     The  boxelder  is  slower  in  growth  than  the  cotton- 
wood  and  forms  an  understory  and  shade  for  the  ground. 
The  cottonwood  grows  rapidly  in  height  and  produces 
timber.     Thinning  should  be  made  in  the  boxelder  until 
it  is  all  removed,  since  in  itself  it  is  of  little  value,  but  is 
used  merely  to   aid  the   cottonwood.     This  mixture  is 
adapted  to  general  prairie  planting  where  soil  moisture 
may  be  reached  readily  by  the  roots.     The  trees  in  this 
mixture  are  very  hardy  and  can  be  counted  on  to  endure 
the  severe  colds  in  the  northern  prairies. 

The  following  mixtures  are  suitable  for  general  planting 
in  the  Lake  States,  or  anywhere  in  the  general  range 
of  the  white  pine. 

I.   Norway  pine  and  jack  pine  in  equal  mixture  4X4 


132  The  Farm  Woodlot 

feet.  Close  spacing  is  required  in  order  that  the  ground 
may  be  covered  and  the  soil  protected  as  early  as  possible. 
In  thinning,  the  jack  pine  should  be  removed  first,  since 
it  is  shorter  lived  and  of  poorer  quality  than  the  Norway 
pine.  Further  thinning  must  be  made  in  the  Norway 
pine  itself.  This  mixture  is  a  good  one  for  sandy  ground 
in  the  Lake  States. 

II.  White  pine  and  Norway  spruce  in  equal  proportion 
6X6  feet.     The  spruce  will  endure  more  shade  than  the 
pine  and  will  serve  as  an  understory  forcing  the  pine 
upward,    thus   producing   tall   trees.     Thinnings   should 
begin  with  the  spruce  and  later  run  into  the  pine.     This 
mixture  is  well  adapted  in  the  general  range  of  the  white 
pine. 

III.  Sugar  maple  and  white  pine  in  equal  proportions 
6X6  feet.     This  mixture  of  conifer  and  broadleaf  is  one 
that   has  been  very  widely  used  with  very  good  success 
and  can  be  used  anywhere  the  maple  and  the  pine  occur 
naturally.     The  maple  is  slow  in  growth,  forms  a  dense 
shade  and  serves  as  an  understory,  shading  the  ground 
and   maintaining  good   forest    conditions.     The   pine   is 
forced  into  good  height  growth.     Thinnings  may  take 
place  both  in  the  pine  and  the  maple  and  when  the  pine 
is  finally  removed,  a  second  crop  of  maple  may  be  cut  in  a 
comparatively  short  time. 

IV.  Norway  spruce  and  European  larch  in  equal  mix- 
tures 6X6  feet.     The  larch  growing  more  rapidly  than 
the  spruce  will  form  the  overstory  while  the  spruce  forms 
the  understory  and  shades  the  ground.     This  mixture  is 
very  suitable  for  poor,  sandy  soil  in  the  Northeast. 

V.  Chestnut  and  white  pine  6X6  feet  in  equal  propor- 


Practical  Sylviculture  133 

tions.  The  chestnut  must  be  removed  first,  since  it 
grows  more  rapidly  than  the  pine  and  will  produce  pole 
and  post  material,  while  the  pine  is  left  for  the  final  crop. 
This  mixture  is  a  valuable  one  in  the  general  range  of  the 
chestnut. 

VI.  White  ash  and  red  oak  6X6  feet  in  equal  mixtures. 
These  two  species  are  very  nearly  equal  in  their  rate  of 
growth  and  thinning  may  include  both  species.     A  well- 
kept  woodlot  of  this  mixture  can  be  depended  on  to  furnish 
saw  timber  from  both  oak  and  ash.      This   mixture  is 
adapted  to  moderately  fertile  bottom  lands. 

VII.  Sugar  maple  and  chestnut  in  equal  mixture  6X6 
feet.     The  chestnut  growing  more  rapidly  than  the  maple 
forms  the  overstory,  while  the  maple  shades  the  ground  and 
forms  the  understory.     Thinnings  are  made  in  both  the 
chestnut  and  the  maple.     The  chestnut  is  removed  first, 
leaving  the  maple  for  the  final  crop.     This  mixture  can  be 
used  in  the  northeastern  states. 


CHAPTER  VI 

PRACTICAL   SYLVICULTURE  — WORK   IN    THE 
WOODLOT 

WHEN  the  woodlot  is  a  piece  of  native  woodland  or  a 
planted  grove,  it  should  have  the  same  careful  attention, 
after  its  kind,  as  is  given  a  crop  of  grain.  To  be  sure, 
neither  the  same  amount  nor  the  same  intensity  of  atten- 
tion is  required,  but  the  farm  woodlot  ought  to  be  an 
object  of  sufficient  interest  and  pride  to  receive  such  atten- 
tion and  treatment  as  it  needs.  It  is  a  mistaken  notion 
that  a  tree  once  started  will  take  care  of  itself  and  under 
any  circumstances  produce  the  best  it  is  capable  of.  It 
would  be  just  as  fair  to  expect  a  stalk  of  corn  uncared  for 
to  grow  to  successful  maturity.  The  farmer  takes  it  for 
granted  that,  in  order  to  grow  a  crop  of  potatoes  or  corn, 
he  must  carry  on  a  process  of  intelligent  cultivation.  He 
knows  definitely  that  his  crop  of  potatoes  or  corn  will  be 
very  largely  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  labor  he  has 
expended  in  caring  for  it.  While  there  is  no  question  as 
to  the  necessity  and  value  of  cultivation  and  care  in  the 
growing  of  a  field  crop,  it  is  usually  considered  unnecessary 
to  aid  the  growing  trees  in  the  woodlot.  It  is  generally 
assumed  that  nature's  methods  are  the  best  and  that 
labor  expended  in  improving  the  woodlot  is  time  wasted. 
This  is  no  more  true  than  that  nature's  methods  are  the 
best  for  the  orchard  or  the  garden.  No  orchardist  would 

134 


FIG.  35.  —  Poorly  stocked  stand  of  hardwoods. 


136  The  Farm  Woodlot 

plant  his  trees  and  then  have  his  attention  end  there. 
The  woodlot,  in  order  that  it  may  be  of  its  utmost  value, 
requires  a  certain  amount  of  attention  and  intelligent 


FIG.  36.  —  A  poorly  kept  woodlot.     The  trees  are  over-mature  and  de- 
teriorating.   Reproduction  and  ground  cover  are  wanting. 

treatment.  Just  as  a  field  of  corn  needs  weeding,  so  the 
woodlot  needs  weeding.  To  be  sure,  the  weeds  in  a  wood- 
lot  are  not  like  those  in  the  field  of  corn,  but  instead  are 
small,  worthless  trees  occupying  valuable  space,  utilizing 
the  soil  and  interfering  with  the  growth  and  development 


Practical  Sylviculture 


137 


of  good  trees.     Work  carried  on  in  the  woodlot  in  caring 

for  the  crop  of  trees  is  known  by  the  general  term  of  thin- 

ning. Thinning 

may  mean  ac- 

tual removal  of 

good     trees 

when  the  stand 

is    too     thick, 

the  removal  of 

defective,  poor 

and    worthless 

trees  or  the  re- 

moval of  any- 

thing     that 

tends   to  im- 

prove the  tree 

growth.  The 

practice  of  in- 

telligent   thin- 

n  i^n  g     very 

quickly   shows 

a  marked  effect 

on  the  develop- 

ment   of   the 

trees     in     a 

stand.        In 

Europe   during 
_  . 

a  period  of  74 

years,  the  for- 

ests have  yielded  an  increase  in  wood  of  300  per  cent,  or 

from  an  annual  growth  of  20  cubic  feet  to  the  acre  a  year 


G-  37.  —  A  good  example  of  woodlot  of  the  selec- 
tion  type.     Trees  are  of  all  ages,  both  conifers  and 

hardwoods. 


138  The  Farm  Woodlot 

to  that  of  65  cubic  feet  to  the  acre  a  year.  This  increase 
in  yield  has  been  brought  about  almost  entirely  by  a  sys- 
tematic and  intelligent  process  of  thinning. 

The  theory  of  thinning  lies  in  the  fact  that  a  tree  as  a 
growing  organism  is  governed  in  its  rate  of  growth  and 
perfection  of  development  by  the  amount  of  light,  mois- 
ture and  soil  fertility  it  secures.  Light  is  the  first  and 
most  important  factor.  A  tree  responds  to  light  through 
its  leaves  just  as  an  animal  responds  to  air  through  its 
lungs.  Leaves  are  the  lungs  of  plants  and  it  is  through 
the  leaves  that  most  of  the  wood  of  a  tree  is  formed.  Wood 
is  made  up  largely  of  carbon  obtained  from  the  air  by  the 
leaves  in  the  presence  of  sunlight.  It  follows  then  that 
increased  light  produces  more  leaves,  consequently  a 
greater  leaf  surface,  which  results  in  a  greater  production  of 
wood.  A  tree  growing  in  dense  shade  cannot  develop  as 
fast  as  when  given  a  large  amount  of  light.  It  should  be 
the  purpose  of  every  woodlot  owner  to  produce  wood  as 
rapidly  as  possible.  As  soon  as  a  stand  of  trees  becomes 
crowded  and  the  trees  interfere  with  one  another,  some 
should  be  removed  and  a  greater  amount  of  light  admitted 
to  the  remaining  ones.  The  amount  of  light  to  admit  at 
any  one  time  is  a  matter  for  careful  judgment,  since  height 
growth  is  best  obtained  in  a  close  stand,  and  a  crop  of 
grass  must  not  be  allowed  to  come  in  and  occupy  the  forest 
floor. 

To  illustrate  how  largely  wood  is  made  up  of  carbon 
taken  from  the  air  by  leaves  in  the  presence  of  sunlight, 
let  us  take  as  an  example  a  cigar  and  a  piece  of  wood  the 
same  size ;  burn  the  two  and  compare  the  amount  of  ash. 
The  cigar  is  a  product  of  the  leaves  of  a  plant,  while  the 


Practical  Sylviculture  139 

wood  is  a  part  of  the  woody  stem.  The  large  amount  of 
ash  from  the  cigar  shows  the  amount  of  fertility  drawn 
from  the  soil.  The  comparatively  small  amount  of  ash 


FIG.  38.  —  Greatly  in  need  of  thinning. 

from  the  piece  of  wood  indicates  what  the  tree  obtained 
from  the  soil  and  stored  in  the  wood.  Tree  leaves  contain 
about  as  much  ash  as  tobacco  leaves,  but  the  tree  returns 


140  The  Farm  Woodlot 

its  leaves  to  the  soil,  while  the  tobacco  leaves  are  har- 
vested. The  agricultural  crop  utilizes  the  seed  and 
leaves,  while  the  forest  crop  utilizes  the  wood  made  largely 
of  carbon  from  the  air.  It  follows  from  this  that  crowding 
or  shading,  which  deprives  the  tree  of  its  necessary  amount 
of  sunlight  and  space  in  which  to  grow,  reduces  its  leaf 
surface  and  consequently  interferes  with  and  checks  the 
amount  of  wood  produced.  Thus  thinnings  tend  to  give 
the  good  trees  more  light  and  more  available  soil  and 
moisture ;  consequently  there  is  an  accelerated  growth 
and  development  of  better  and  larger  trees. 

As  an  example,  take  a  woodlot  containing  about  1200 
trees  to  the  acre.  This  number  of  trees,  if  equally  dis- 
tributed, would  be  spaced  about  6X6  feet.  Each  tree 
then  would  have  about  36  square  feet  in  which  to  spread 
its  branches.  In  a  few  years,  side  branches  from  the 
different  trees  will  begin  to  interfere  with  and  finally 
crowd  one  another.  As  this  interference  and  crowding 
continue,  the  stronger  trees  outgrow  and  overtop  the 
weaker  ones,  producing  a  crop  of  trees,  some  of  which 
are  poor  and  worthless,  others  fairly  well  developed. 

Trees  differ  in  rate  of  growth  even  in  the  same  species 
and  some  are  certain  to  outgrow  others  and  overtop 
them.  When  this  condition  begins  to  show  its  effect  on 
the  trees,  nature  should  be  aided  by  removing  the  poor 
trees  to  make  more  room  for  the  good  ones.  This  should 
continue  as  long  as  the  trees  interfere  with  each  other. 
When  finally  the  trees  are  fifty  or  sixty  years  old,  instead  of 
1200  there  probably  would  be  only  about  200  or  250  trees. 
Nature,  if  not  interfered  with,  would  eventually  produce 
practically  the  same  number  of  trees,  many  of  poor  quality 


Practical  Sylviculture  141 

and  small  dimensions,  and  would  require  a  great  deal  of 
time.  During  the  early  life  of  the  trees  in  the  woodlot, 
it  is  quite  important  that  they  crowd  one  another  to  some 
extent,  since  this  tends  to  increase  their  height  growth  by 
forcing  them  upward,  producing  tall,  straight  trunks. 
As  soon  as  a  good  height  growth  has  been  attained,  then 
the  ax  should  be  used  in  opening  the  woodlot,  letting  in 
more  light,  giving  the  trees  more  room  and  encouraging 
greater  growth  in  diameter. 

Carrying  out  thinning  operations  in  a  woodlot  in  which 
only  one  or  two  species  of  trees  occur  is  quite  a  simple 
matter  as  compared  to  the  average  woodlot  which  con- 
tains a  mixture  of  trees  of  different  species  and  trees  that 
differ  in  their  soil,  moisture  and  light  requirements.  In 
the  average  farm  woodlot,  thinning  usually  takes  place 
only  when  some  fuel  or  timber  is  needed  about  the  farm. 
This  usually  is  beneficial  to  a  certain  extent,  but  it  is  not 
sufficiently  systematic  to  enable  the  trees  to  produce  their 
maximum  growth.  The  same  system  of  thinning  that  is 
adaptable  to  the  native  woodlot  may  not  be  adaptable 
to  the  planted  grove,  since  the  native  woodlot  contains  a 
greater  variety  of  trees  and  of  various  sizes,  while  the 
planted  grove  may  contain  but  two  or  three  kinds  and 
usually  of  the  same  age  and  size.  When  a  woodlot  has 
been  cut  over,  most  of  the  hardwood  species  will  sprout 
from  the  stump,  producing  great  quantities  of  shoots, 
which  if  properly  cared  for  will  develop  into  valuable 
trees.  The  fact  that  these  sprouts  grow  in  great  numbers 
calls  for  a  still  different  system  of  thinning.  It  follows 
from  this  that  the  farmer  must  consider  the  kind  of 
trees,  the  manner  in  which  they  were  established,  the 


142 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


number  of  species  and  the  soil  and  moisture,  before  he 
decides  how,  and  to  what  extent,  he  is  going  to  carry  on 
his  thinning  operations.  The  wood  that  is  removed  during 
the  thinning  process  may  always  be  of  use  around  the  farm, 
particularly  for  fuel.  It  is  very  seldom  that  early  thin- 


FIG.  39.  — Evergreen  plantation.     Some  of  trees  dying  from  crowding. 

nings  yield  any  revenue  directly,  since  it  may  be  necessary, 
particularly  in  sprout  growth,  to  thin  before  the  sprouts 
are  large  enough  to  be  utilized.  The  value  of  early  thin- 
nings shows  itself  in  the  improvement  and  the  additional 
growth  of  the  trees  that  are  left  in  the  woodlot.  When  the 
material  removed  is  large  enough  for  fuel,  or  for  any 
other  purpose,  then  the  operation  may  pay  for  itself  and 
may  yield  some  revenue,  but  in  forestry  the  profit  from 


Practical  Sylviculture  143 

thinnings  is  looked  forward  to  in  the  final  crop  rather  than 
in  the  wood  that  is  removed  during  thinning  operations. 

TIME   OF   THINNING 

It  will  be  understood  in  this  discussion  that  the  term 
thinning  is  applied  to  any  operation  that  tends  to  remove 
from  the  woodlot  any  undesirable  material,  either  living  or 
dead,  at  any  time,  or  any  desirable  and  valuable  trees  in 
overcrowded  stands  at  such  times  as  seem  best  for  the 
woodlot.  This  definition  of  thinning  is  not  the  one 
adhered  to  strictly  by  the  forester,  but  is  used  here  in  a 
broad  and  general  sense. 

As  to  the  time  of  thinning  the  woodlot,  it  is  a  difficult 
matter  in  a  treatise  of  this  kind  to  give  anything  other 
than  general  advice,  since  conditions  are  so  variable. 

It  is  a  good  rule  to  commence  thinning  early  in  the  life  of 
trees,  and  this  time  is  best  indicated  when  there  is  a  begin- 
ning of  active  crowding  between  individual  trees.  In  the 
vigorous-growing  natural  stands  or  in  the  planted  grove, 
this  crowding  usually  begins  at  about  twelve  to  eighteen 
years.  At  this  time  only  such  trees  should  be  removed 
as  interfere  with  one  another  or  with  other  and  better 
trees  that  will  eventually  be  suppressed  and  stunted. 
Such  a  thinning  should  be  light  and  the  operator  should 
look  to  the  crown  of  each  tree  rather  than  to  the  number  of 
trees  on  any  particular  area.  The  prime  object  is  to 
give  each  tree  crown  space  and  yet  to  maintain  a  thinned 
but  even  canopy  over  the  entire  woodlot  area. 

The  woodlot  owner  doubtless  will  object  to  this  kind  of 
an  operation,  since  the  material  removed  cannot  be 
expected  to  defray  the  incurred  expense  or  to  net  any 


144 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


revenue.     It  is  often  the  case  that  a  farmer  is  able  to 
spend  some  of  his  own  time  or  the  time  of  some  of  his  farm 

hands  in  this 
kind  of  work  to 
very  good  ad- 
vantage with- 
out any  par- 
ticular sacrifice 
of  the  regular 
farm  routine 
work.  The  op- 
erations may 
be  carried  on 
in  the  winter 
time  or  when 
there  is  a  scar- 
city, for  a  short 
period  of  time, 
of  the  ordinary 
farm  work. 
Under  such  cir- 
cumstances, 
thinning  oper- 
ations cannot 
be  considered 
expensive  and 
the  value  of  a 
future  crop  of 
timber  should 
be  considered 
FIG.  40.  — Hardwood  grove  properly  thinned.  rather  than  re- 


Practical  Sylviculture 


145 


turns  from  the  immediate  thinning.  In  woodlots  of 
considerable  area,  such  as  are  attached  to  some  farms, 
there  may  be  a  local  market  for  cordwood,  and  under  such 
conditions  later  thinnings  may  prove  financially  profitable, 


FIG.  41. —  Thinning  in  hardwood  stand. 

as  well  as  beneficial  to  the  trees  left  in  the  woodlot.  It  is 
a  good  rule  to  thin  lightly  and  often,  so  as  at  no  time  to 
expose  the  forest  floor  to  a  large  amount  of  sunlight,  which 
would  encourage  a  growth  of  grass. 


146  The  Farm  Woodlot 

Later  thinnings,  following  possibly  ten  or  fifteen  years 
later,  usually  pay  for  themselves  and  in  some  cases  are 
profitable  even  when  the  woodlot  owner  can  use  the  wood  on 
his  own  farm.  Thinnings  made  in  a  stand  thirty  or  forty 
years  old  of  the  average  species  of  our  forest  trees  are 
made  with  a  different  object  in  view  from  that  of  the 
early  thinnings.  At  this  time  most  of  the  trees  will  have 
attained  their  principal  height  growth,  and  if  allowed  to 
remain  unthinned  will  become  tall  and  lanky.  The 
chopper  again  must  look  to  the  crowns  of  the  trees  rather 
than  to  the  number  standing  on  the  ground  so  as  to  rgive 
each  tree  an  equal  and  sufficient  amount  of  crown  space. 
This  admitting  of  more  light  enables  each  tree  to  develop 
more  leaf  surface,  consequently  to  grow  very  rapidly  in 
diameter,  thus  laying  on  large  quantities  of  wood.  It  is 
rare  that  a  farmer  with  a  small  woodlot  will  care  to  grow 
trees  for  a  particular  use,  but  he  can  always  use  to  best 
advantage  tall,  well-developed  trees  of  various  sizes.  It 
seems  best  then  to  encourage  height  growth  first  by  a 
close  stand  and  then  by  thinning  at  the  proper  time,  to 
provide  for  the  rapid  increase  in  diameter.  This  has  in 
every  case  a  tendency  to  produce  well-developed  trees. 

KIND    OF   THINNINGS 

In  a  general  way  thinnings  may  be  considered  as  of  two 
kinds,  first,  improvement  thinnings,  and  second,  reproduc- 
tion thinnings.  Each  of  these  may  be  given  a  paragraph. 

Improvement  thinnings 

Improvement  thinnings  have  as  their  purpose  merely 
the  improvement  of  the  present  stand.  This  may  consist 


Practical  Sylviculture 


147 


in  clearing 
woodlots  of 
dead  m  a  t  e- 
rial,  either  on 
the  ground  or 
on  the  stump, 
of  removing 
brush,  small 
worthless  trees, 
or  removing  a 
part  of  the 
regular  stand 
so  as  to  im- 
prove the  de- 
velopment and 
the  quality  of 
the  remaining 
trees.  An  im- 
p  ro  vemen t 
thinning  must 
never  be  very 
heavy,  since 
the  purpose  is 
to  benefit  the 
trees  that  are 
to  make  the 
final  crop,  and 
at  all  times 

there  should  be  sufficient  density  to  the  canopy  to  shade 
out  any  grasses  that  would  be  sure  to  come  in  if  the 
crowns  were  grouped  or  unevenly  distributed. 


FIG.  42.  —  Woodlot  in  need  of   an  improvement 
cutting. 


148  The  Farm  Woodlot 

Reproduction  thinnings 

Thinnings  of  this  nature  have  for  their  purpose  the 
encouragement  of  reproduction  so  as  to  have  a  crop  of  new 
trees  well  started  by  the  time  the  mature  crop  is  removed. 
Reproduction  thinnings  must  necessarily  be  heavier  than 
improvement  thinnings  and  must  be  carried  on  at  such 
times  as  the  trees  are  producing  seed  and  the  soil  is  in 
favorable  condition  to  receive  the  seed,  in  order  that  the 
new  trees  may  start  evenly  throughout  the  woodlot. 
There  always  must  be  enough  light  admitted  to  the 
ground  to  enable  these  young  trees  to  grow.  As  soon  as 
they  are  thoroughly  established  and  grown  to  a  consider- 
able size,  say  ten  years  old,  the  old  trees  may  be  rapidly 
or  gradually  removed.  The  woodlot  owner  must  be 
very,  careful  of  this  new  growth  during  the  process  of 
removing  the  old  trees.  With  the  right  kind  of  species 
properly  handled,  it  may  be  unnecessary  to  add  any  plant- 
ing, except  possibly  to  a  small  extent  where  the  growth  is 
uneven.  In  case  seeding  cannot  be  depended  on,  from  the 
native  trees,  to  supply  the  reproduction,  and  sprout 
growth  is  not  advisable,  a  regular  reproduction  thinning 
may  be  made,  followed  by  the  planting  of  seed  or  seedlings. 
This  is  certain  to  produce  a  more  uniform  stand  and  to 
establish  a  new  growth  of  trees  in  very  much  less  time 
than  when  natural  reproduction  is  depended  on.  In  the 
woodlot,  improvement  thinnings  usually  develop  into 
reproduction  thinnings  as  the  trees  approach  commercial 
maturity.  In  the  selection  system  of  handling  woodlands, 
reproduction  thinnings  are  made  whenever  the  selected 
or  mature  trees  are  cut  and  removed. 


Practical  Sylviculture 


149 


KESULTS    OF   THINNINGS 


The  practical   results    of    thinning    the   woodlot    are 
usually  not  appreciated  at  the  time  they  are  made,  nor  is 


FIG.  43.  —  Cordwood  taken  out  in  thinning.    Note  evenness  of  remain- 
ing stand. 

there  a  record  kept  that  will  show  what  are  the  actual 
results  in  increased  growth.  The  increase  in  wood  volume 
is  through  increased  diameter  rather  than  through 
increased  height.  An  average  white  pine  tree  10  inches 
in  diameter  at  4|  feet  from  the  ground  and  60  feet  high 
contains  95  board  feet  of  unedged  lumber.  By  providing 


FIG.  44.  —  Fifty-year-old  plantation  of  white  pine.    Note  the  density  of 

shade. 


Practical  Sylviculture  151 

more  space  in  a  stand  for  such  a  tree  by  thinning,  its  diam- 
eter may  be  increased  to  15  inches  with  practically  no 
increase  in  height,  thus  increasing  the  volume  from  95  to 
195  board  feet.  This  is  a  gam  in  diameter  of  100  per  cent, 
aside  from  the  better  quality  of  wood  produced.  An 
averaged  developed  chestnut  tree  10  inches  hi  diameter 
will  produce  two  railroad  ties  and  about  one-third  cord  of 
wood.  The  same  tree  with  a  five-inch  increase  in  diam- 
eter will  yield  five  ties  and  one-half  cord  of  wood.  This 
means  an  increase  in  tie  value  alone  of  150  per  cent.  This 
may  also  be  applied,  but  with  slightly  less  increase,  to  oak. 
Hardwood  sprout  growths  in  the  woodlot  by  judicious 
thinning  may  be  converted  from  a  cord  wood  to  a  log 
proposition.  This  increase  in  value  is  the  result  of  rapid 
growth  of  individual  trees  through  careful  thinning,  often 
bringing  them  to  commercial  maturity  ten  or  twenty 
years  earlier  than  if  left  unthinned.  The  quality  of  the 
timber  is  largely  increased  through  clear,  straight,  tall 
and  even-grained  trees.  In  addition,  the  woodlot  is  kept 
clear  of  diseased  and  insect  infested  trees,  danger  from 
fire  is  reduced  to  a  minimum,  all  parts  are  made  more 
readily  accessible  and  the  general  appearance  and  aesthetic 
value  are  greatly  improved. 

In  a  woodlot  of  white  pine  in  New  England  in  which 
thinning  operations  were  carried  on,  there  were  trees 
ranging  in  diameter  from  five  to  twenty-two  inches,  in 
height  from  sixty  to  seventy  feet  and  spaced  approximately 
on  an  average  twelve  by  twelve  feet,  or  about  three  hun- 
dred trees  to  the  acre.  Thinnings  were  made  as  shown 
in  the  following  table  :  — 


152 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


DIAMETER  BREAST  HIGH  (INCHES) 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

Trees      re- 

moved 

(i 

17 

31 

30 

38 

40 

17 

18 

12 

10 

3 

— 

2 

1 

— 

— 

— 

_^ 

Trees    left 

1 

1 

3 

10 

10 

32 

1!) 

36 

36 

32 

29 

24- 

24 

10 

4 

4 

4 

1 

Out  of  511  trees  225  were  removed,  representing  about 
27,050  board  feet  out  of  a  total  of  77,190  board  feet.  All 
together,  during  the  thinning  process,  about  two-fifths  of 
the  trees  were  removed,  representing  about  one-third  of  the 
volume.  The  cost  of  this  thinning  varied  from  83  cents  a 
thousand  board  feet  to  $1.50  a  thousand  board  feet  for 
day  labor. 


CHAPTER  VII 
FOREST  PROTECTION 

PROTECTION  of  the  woodlot  is  an  extremely  important 
and  very  simple  matter.  Most  of  the  difficulties  and  com- 
plications in  connection  with  forest  protection  occur  in  the 
management  of  extensive  forests.  Here  large  sums  of 
money  must  be  spent  in  making  different  parts  of  the  forest 
accessible,  in  cutting  expensive  fire  breaks  and  in  main- 
taining patrols  in  the  danger  season.  These  are  the  things 
that  require  money  and  technical  knowledge. 

Few  woodlot s  involve  any  of  these  questions.  They  are 
usually  small  and  surrounded  by  open  country  or  well 
traversed  by  roads,  making  them  accessible  all  around. 
These  roads  and  the  open  country  are  very  efficient  fire 
breaks,  which,  together  with  location  of  the  woodlots  in  a 
comparatively  thickly  settled  country,  make  any  patrol 
unnecessary.  The  woodlot  is,  however,  liable  to  a  certain 
degree  to  the  following  dangers  :  fire,  grazing,  mismanage- 
ment, trespass,  windfall,  sunscald,  insect  and  fungi  at- 
tacks. The  remedies  in  most  cases  are  very  simple. 

FIRE 

Only  two  types  of  fires  are  likely  to  occur  in  the  woodlot, 
the  ground  fire  and  the  surface  fire.  The  ground  fire 
burns  below  the  surface  fed  by  the  humus,  leaf  mold  and 
peat  in  the  soil.  These  fires  occur  commonly  only  in 

153 


154  The  Farm  Wopdlot 

those  regions  in  which  there  is  a  great  amount  of  peat  in 
the  soil,  this  usually  being  the  case  in  swampy  country  only. 
Such  land  is  too  wet  to  burn  except  in  very  dry  seasons, 
when  it  becomes  very  inflammable.  A  fire  started  on  the 
surface  eats  rapidly  into  the  ground,  sometimes  to  consider- 
able depths  according  to  the  thickness  of  the  peat  forma- 
tion. The  fierce  heat  from  such  a  fire  enables  it,  when  it 
has  once  secured  a  good  start,  to  dry  out  the  ground  ahead 
of  it  sufficiently  to  burn  through  a  quite  wet  swamp. 
Fire  often  smolders  across  a  swamp  in  this  way  unnoticed 
and  breaks  out  in  a  violent  conflagration  on  the  other  side. 
The  Hinckley  fire  and  several  other  disastrous  fires  started 
in  just  this  way.  The  usual  cause  of  such  a  ground  fire  is 
a  poorly  located  and  neglected  camp  fire ;  sometimes  it  is  a 
discarded  match  or  cigar  stump  or  a  surface  fire.  Such  a 
fire  destroys  not  only  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  but  the  soil 
itself,  and  burns  off  the  roots  of  the  trees  so  that  they  fall 
of  their  own  weight  or  are  blown  over  by  the  first  wind. 
This  makes  a  tangled  mass  of  dead  trees  and  brush  in 
which  the  next  fire  would  be  wholly  beyond  control. 
There  is  only  one  way  to  fight  such  a  fire  :  by  ditching  all 
around  it  to  the  depth  of  the  mineral  soil  and  keeping  a 
careful  watch  to  see  that  it  does  not  cross  the  ditch.  If, 
by  any  chance,  the  fire  gets  a  start  unnoticed  and  kills  the 
trees,  the  burned  area  should  be  gone  over  as  soon  as 
possible  and  all  the  material  that  can  be  used  in  any  form 
removed.  This  should  not  be  neglected,  for  the  shallow- 
rooted  species  that  grow  in  such  situations  are  seldom  du- 
rable and  rot  very  rapidly.  When  the  useful  material  has 
been  removed,  the  remaining  brush  should  be  burned 
carefully  to  lessen  the  chances  of  another  fire. 


Forest  Protection  155 

A  surface  fire  burns  in  the  moss,  leaves  and  underbrush. 
In  fact,  in  many  regions  it  is  such  a  common  occurrence  for 
the  forests  to  burn  over  in  this  way  every  spring  and  fall 
that  no  one  pays  any  attention  to  them.  Some  owners 
even  set  these  fires  in  their  woodlots  with  the  idea  of  im- 
proving the  grazing.  It  is  the  impression  generally  that 
these  surface  fires  do  no  damage  because  they  do  not  very 
obviously  injure  the  mature  trees.  This  impression  is 
altogether  wrong.  The  surface  fire  does  an  enormous 
amount  of  damage  in  any  forest ;  and  more  especially  is 
this  so  in  the  woodlot.  The  obvious  injury  to  the  mature 
timber  is,  indeed,  slight,  but  damage  has  been  done. 
The  litter  which  should  naturally  increase  the  fertility  of 
the  soil  is  destroyed,  and  land  that  is  burned  over  every 
year  deteriorates  steadily.  The  surface  roots  are  injured 
or  killed  by  the  heat  and  the  trees  rendered  liable  to  wind- 
fall. The  trees  are  burned  at  the  base  so  that  considerable 
loss  is  experienced  in  logging  through  the  cutting  of  high 
stumps  and  the  butting  of  the  bottom  log  —  the  very  best 
timber  in  the  whole  tree.  This  is  more  especially  true  of 
conifers. 

The  greatest  loss  is  in  the  young  growth,  which  is  very 
susceptible  to  injury  from  fire  in  all  species.  A  surface 
fire  every  three  or  four  years  is  sufficient  to  destroy  most  of 
the  young  growth  and  the  annual  burning  makes  all 
reproduction  impossible.  It  also  fosters  the  growth  of 
herbaceous  weeds  and  sprouting  shrubs  to  such  an  extent 
that  tree  seedlings  are  crowded  out  completely.  In  the 
virgin  forest  in  which  most  of  the  timber  is  mature  and 
very  little  young  growth  is  present,  this  does  not  matter 
so  much  to  the  owner,  for  he  counts  on  moving  to  another 


156  The  Farm  Woodlot 

tract  for  his  next  cut  and  has  no  idea  of  raising  another 
crop  on  the  same  ground.  In  the  woodlot  in  which  the  lo- 
cation is  necessarily  permanent,  the  very  existence  of  the 
forest  depends  absolutely  upon  this  young  growth.  A  cer- 
tain amount  of  timber  must  be  ready  for  the  harvest  each 
year  or  the  woodlot  fails  of  its  purpose.  To  furnish  this 
mature  timber  regularly  and  continuously,  young  growth  of 
all  ages  must  always  be  present.  Fire  of  any  kind  breaks  up 
this  series  and  impairs  the  producing  capacity  of  the  forest. 

These  fires  occur  at  different  times  of  the  year  in  differ- 
ent sections  of  the  country  but  there  are  two  seasons  when 
they  are  most  prevalent.  In  the  spring  after  the  snow  has 
melted  and  before  the  vegetation  has  leafed  out,  the  sun's 
rays  fall  directly  on  the  leaf  mold  and  make  it  as  dry  as 
tinder.  Practically  the  same  conditions  exist  in  the  early 
autumn  after  the  leaves  have  fallen  and  before  the  snows 
or  fall  rams  begin.  The  least  spark  will  then  cause  a  fire 
which  soon  gets  beyond  control  unless  discovered  in  the 
very  inception.  These  are  the  times  when  fires  are  most 
likely  to  occur,  but  a  severe  drought  may  bring  about 
these  conditions  at  any  time  of  the  year. 

The  railroads  are  responsible  for  a  very  large  percentage 
of  the  forest  fires.  Sparks  from  the  smoke  stack  and  live 
coals  from  the  fire  box  are  almost  certain  to  start  forest 
fires  in  dry  seasons.  In  fact,  it  was  found  necessary  in  a 
particularly  dry  season  in  the  Adirondacks  to  patrol  the 
forests  after  every  train,  and  the  patrol  was  seldom  in 
vain.  Spark  arresters  on  the  smoke  stacks  and  regulations 
restricting  the  dumping  of  the  ashes  to  suitable  places 
do  away  with  most  of  this  danger.  The  clearing  and 
burning  over  of  a  strip  on  either  side  of  the  right  of  way  is 


Forest  Protection  157 

also  a  very  good  protective  measure.  If  it  is  not  desirable 
to  have  this  space  idle,  keep  good,  healthy  trees  growing 
to  the  very  edge  of  the  right  of  way  and  keep  them  very 
carefully  freed  from  all  dead  limbs  and  dry  litter  on  the 
ground.  Highways  should  be  treated  in  much  the  same 
manner  as  railroads  on  account  of  the  danger  from  matches 
and  cigar  butts  carelessly  thrown  aside  by  the  passers-by. 

Next  to  the  railroads,  the  burning  of  fallows  is  the  most 
frequent  cause  of  fire.  The  farmers  fire  their  meadows  and 
marshes  in  the  spring  to  burn  out  the  dead  grass  and 
to  improve  the  pasture.  In  spite  of  the  laws  making  a 
closed  season  for  fallow  burning  in  many  states,  fires  are 
started  at  dry  seasons  and  quickly  get  beyond  control.  In 
fact,  many  farmers  take  no  further  interest  in  a  fire  after 
they  have  started  it,  and  let  it  run  wherever  it  will.  The 
property  of  others  is  often  destroyed  in  this  way  and  the 
fires  frequently  run  into  the  forests  from  the  meadows. 
More  care  in  choosing  a  suitable  time  for  firing  the  meadow 
would  eliminate  most  of  this  danger.  Such  a  fire  should 
never  be  started  during  a  drought  or  when  there  is  a  heavy 
wind.  About  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  on  a  clear  day 
shortly  after  a  rain  is  a  good  time  to  set  such  a  fire.  The 
open  field  then  will  be  sufficiently  dry  to  burn  well,  while 
the  moisture  in  the  woods  and  the  falling  of  the  dew  in  the 
evening  will  prevent  the  fire  from  getting  beyond  control. 
Where  meadow  land  adjoins  forest,  a  strip  a  rod  wide 
should  be  plowed  and  kept  clear. 

The  setting  of  fires  in  the  woods  itself  should  never  be 
permitted  —  for  the  returns  in  grass  will  never  repay  the 
damage  done  to  the  forest.  This  practice  of  firing  the 
woods  is  most  prevalent  in  the  South,  where  it  is  done 


158  The  Farm  Woodlot 

regularly  every  year.  In  some  places  the  people  are  be- 
ginning to  learn  from  experience  that  the  burning  is  not  a 
good  practice  even  from  an  agricultural  standpoint.  The 
fertility  of  the  soil  decreases  steadily  and  the  better 
grasses  are  replaced  by  coarser  and  inferior  species. 

In  some  sections  many  fires  are  started  by  tramps  who 
camp  in  the  woodlots  for  the  night,  cook  their  dinners, 
and  are  careless  with  their  camp  fires.  They  take  no  care 
in  locating  the  fires  and  then  leave  them  to  be  spread 
by  the  wind.  They  should  be  watched  closely  and  care 
should  be  taken  in  handling  them,  or  they  may  maliciously 
or  thoughtlessly  fire  the  woods.  M 

There  are  a  few  precautionary  measures  that  should  be 
observed  in  every  woodlot  no  matter  how  remote  the  danger 
from  fire  may  appear  to  be.  All  slashings  from  lumbering, 
all  windfalls  and  all  dead  brush  should  be  piled  and  care- 
fully burned.  This  is  an  inexpensive  process  and  prevents 
the  occurrence  of  a  violent  fire.  A  fire  running  in  a  clean 
woods  is  easily  controlled,  but  in  the  dry  slashings  or  wind- 
fall it  is  impossible  to  do  anything  with  it. 

If  the  tract  is  large,  there  should  be  several  roads  through 
it  to  make  all  parts  of  it  easily  accessible  and  to  serve  as 
bases  from  which  to  fight  the  fire.  These  should  be  kept 
well  cleaned  out  and  the  mineral  soil  exposed  wherever 
possible.  There  is  no  better  fire  break  than  a  well-main- 
tained road.  Unassisted  it  will  stop  any  surface  fire  in  a 
clean  forest  and  prevent  it  from  spreading  over  the  whole 
tract.  These  are  both  good  sylvicultural  measures  and 
cause  no  inconvenience. 

The  most  effective  implements  in  fighting  fire  are  the 
shovel  and  the  plow.  A  well-turned  furrow  will  stop  a  light 


Forest  Protection  159 

ground  fire  and  a  shovel-full  of  mineral  soil  spread  over 
the  advancing  line  will  put  out  the  blaze  wherever  it 
touches.  In  digging  a  ditch  to  head  off  the  fire,  the  dirt 
should  be  thrown  in  toward  the  blaze  so  that  the  fire  will 
be  too  much  weakened  to  jump  the  ditch.  Often,  when  a 
ditch  cannot  be  placed  effectually  across  the  whole  front 
of  the  fire,  it  can  be  flanked  obliquely  and  the  front  so  re- 
duced that  it  can  be  controlled,  or  it  can  be  run  into  a 
swamp  or  stream.  Every  swamp,  stream,  road  or  hill  top 
is  a  point  of  vantage  from  which  to  fight.  There  is  such  a 
drought  from  a  valley  that  little  can  be  done  with  a  fire  on 
a  slope,  but  a  very  small  fire  break  will  stop  it  on  a  ridge. 

The  time  to  fight  fire  is  at  night.  In  the  day  time  when 
the  sun  has  dried  up  the  dew,  warmed  up  everything  and 
raised  a  wind,  the  flames  cannot  well  be  handled  and  the 
fire  will  usually  travel  faster  than  a  small  crew  of  men  can 
work.  A  small  fire  may  be  attacked  in  the  day  time  and 
handled  before  it  has  gained  great  headway,  but  if  it  is 
under  full  headway  a  great  amount  of  labor  is  saved  by 
waiting  till  night  to  make  a  fight  against  it.  The  day 
should  be  spent  in  studying  the  fire  and  the  topography, 
picking  out  good  vantage  points  and  making  preparations 
for  the  night's  work.  The  wind  usually  goes  down  some- 
what with  the  sun,  the  dew  dampens  everything  and  the 
fire  is  reduced  to  a  fraction  of  its  daytime  fury. 

When  the  tract  abuts  on  another  forest  property,  it  is 
well  to  place  a  road  on  the  boundary  or  at  least  clear  the 
brush  from  a  strip  two  rods  wide,  plow  a  few  furrows  on 
either  side  and  burn  in  between.  This  strip  should  be 
burned  over  every  year  —  preferably  in  the  spring  —  and 
kept  clean. 


160 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


GRAZING    Figs.  45-48 

Grazing  is  one  of  the  evils  that  is  doing  the  most  damage 
in  the  farm  woodlots  to-day.     On  a  large  number  of  the 


FIG.  45.  —  No  reproduction  at  present.    Due  to  grazing. 

farms,  the  woodlot  is  regarded  as  a  shaded  pasture  and 
grazed  continuously,  little  thought  being  given  to  the 
effect  on  the  wood-producing  capacity.  This  has  gone  on 


Forest  Protection  161 

year  after  year  till  the  tract  has,  in  fact,  become  a  shaded 
pasture;  the  forest  conditions  have  completely  disap- 
peared and  the  woodlot  has  the  appearance  of  a  city  park 
with  a  few  mature  trees  scattered  over  an  open  grass  plot. 

The  amount  of  damage  done  depends  on  many  factors. 
Of  these,  the  most  important  are :  the  condition  of  the 
forest  when  the  stock  is  admitted ;  the  species  of  animal 
admitted ;  the  species  of  trees ;  the  condition  of  the  soil 
and  the  slope  of  the  land. 

The  injury  to  the  forest  consists  of  :  the  browsing  of  the 
young  seedlings,  and  of  the  succulent  leaves  and  shoots  of 
everything  within  reach;  the  gnawing  and  stripping  of 
the  bark,  especially  from  the  young  trees ;  the  trampling 
and  breaking  down  of  seedlings ;  the  bruising  of  the  sur- 
face roots,  especially  by  the  heavily  shod  horses;  and 
the  hard  packing  of  the  forest  floor. 

The  greatest  damage  is  likely  to  result  when  regeneration 
is  in  its  early  stages  —  for  it  is  the  browsing  and  tramping 
of  the  young  seedlings  that  does  the  most  damage  to  the 
forest.  Each  seedling  nipped  off  means  from  two  to  four 
years  wasted  in  the  growth  of  that  tree,  and  the  same 
thing  is  likely  to  occur  again  when  the  growth  is  renewed. 
This  means  that  there  is  very  little  chance  for  the  young 
growth  to  grow  above  the  reach  of  the  animals,  where  it 
would  be  comparatively  safe.  The  correctness  of  this 
theory  is  proven  by  the  appearance  of  tracts  that  have  been 
heavily  grazed  for  a  series  of  years.  Young  growth  is 
absolutely  lacking  and  only  the  mature  trees  remain. 

In  a  large  forest  which  is  managed  on  the  compartment 
system,  it  is  easily  possible  to  allow  grazing  in  the  forest 
generally  but  prohibit  it  on  the  areas  undergoing  repro- 


162 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


duction.  In  the  woodlot  this  cannot  be  done.  Nearly 
all  the  woodlots  are  managed  on  the  selection  system, 
individual  trees  cut  here  and  there  throughout  the  woods, 
which  means  that  reproduction  is  going  on  all  ov$er  the 


FIG.  46.  —  Effect  of  grazing  on  hardwood  reproduction. 

woods  at  the  same  time.     This  makes  it  impossible  to  pro- 
tect young  growth  from  the  grazing  animals. 

Cattle  are  most  frequently  pastured  in  the  woodlot  and 
they  do  less  damage  than  any  other  grazing  stock.  They 
prefer  grass  to  trees,  and  will  not  browse  so  long  as  the 
grass  holds  out.  Care  should  be  taken  not  to  turn  in  more 


Forest  Protection  163 

stock  than  the  grass  in  the  woods  can  carry ;  nor  to  turn 
them  in  before  the  grass  has  started;  nor  to  keep  them 
there  when  the  grass  is  old  and  tough.  If  these  rules  are 
not  followed  carefully,  the  cattle  will  be  forced  by  hunger 
to  browse,  and  on  account  of  their  height  and  weight  can 


FIG.  47.  —  Damage  done  by  cattle  to  oak  sprouts.    ' 

do  a  great  deal  of  damage.  Cattle  browse  only  on  the 
broad-leaved  species,  but  may  damage  coniferous  seedlings 
by  trampling  them. 

Goats  do  not  need  the  incentive  of  hunger  to  make  them 
browse.  They  prefer  the  shoots  of  the  trees  to  grass, 
and  eat  conifers  as  well  as  deciduous  trees.  By  standing 


164  The  Farm  Woodlot 

on  their  hind  legs  and  walking  up  the  small  saplings  with 
their  front  feet,  they  are  able  to  bend  down  trees  six  or 
eight  feet  high  and  browse  off  the  tops.  They  eat  with  a 
jerking,  pulling  motion  which  frequently  strips  the  bark 


FIG.  48.  —  Effect  of  grazing.     Note  reproduction  to   the  left  of  fence 
where  stock  has  been  kept  out. 

from  the  trunks  along  with  the  small  twigs.     They  should 
be  kept  out  of  the  woodlot  at  all  times. 

Sheep  have  somewhat  the  same  characteristics  as  goats, 
but  are  not  so  apt  to  browse  unless  the  ground  feed  runs 
out.  Neither  do  they  take  kindly  to  the  coniferous  seed- 
lings. However,  the  numbers  must  be  very  carefully 
limited  —  for,  if  the  range  becomes  at  all  crowded,  the 
sheep  will  browse  very  heavily  on  the  young  hardwood 


Forest  Protection  165 

growth.  The  fact  that  sheep  are  frequently  used  to  clean 
up  brush  land  shows  what  they  will  do  in  the  way  of  de- 
stroying broadleaf  growth.  Greater  care  is  necessary  in 
limiting  the  number  of  the  sheep  than  cattle,  for  when 
crowded  they  are  like  a  flock  of  locusts.  Horses,  especially 
young  horses,  do  much  damage  by  browsing  the  leaves 
and  small  twigs  as  high  as  they  can  reach,  and  gnawing 
the  bark  off  the  saplings.  They  also  trample  down  a  great 
many  seedlings  with  their  heavy  tread  and  tear  the  bark 
from  the  surface  roots  of  the  shallow-rooted  species  with 
their  iron  shoes.  They  will  not  browse  conifers,  but  break 
down  many  of  them  in  running  around  for  exercise.  Fiirst, 
in  his  book  on  forest  protection,  classifies  the  domestic 
animals,  according  to  the  amount  of  damage  that  they  do, 
as  follows  :  goats,  horses,  sheep  and  cows. 

When  the  soil  is  light  and  has  a  tendency  to  drift  with 
the  wind,  grazing  animals  do  much  to  stir  it  up  and  start 
it  moving.  When  there  is  heavy  clay,  they  pack  it  down 
so  that  germinating  seeds  cannot  get  a  foothold.  When 
the  slope  is  steep,  they  are  very  apt  to  pry  loose  the  earth 
and  start  erosion. 

Do  not  use  the  woodlot  for  a  pasture  unless  it  is  neces- 
sary, and  then  graze  it  as  lightly  as  possible.  That  is  a 
rule  which  can  be  followed  safely  everywhere  and  at  all 
times,  except  when  the  object  is  the  clearing  out  of  the 
underbrush. 

MISMANAGEMENT 

Probably  the  greatest  danger  to  which  the  woodlot 
is  subjected  is  mismanagement  by  the  owner.  No  atten- 
tion is  given  to  the  maintenance  of  production,  either  in 


166  The  Farm  Woodlot 

quantity  or  quality.  The  amount  of  wood  needed  on  the 
farm  is  the  standard  for  cutting,  without  any  regard  to  the 
amount  produced.  The  rate  of  growth,  which  is  the  only 
true  gauge  of  the  producing  capacity,  is  not  considered. 
When  the  woodlot  is  large,  sufficient  timber  is  not  removed 
and  the  excess  growth  rots  away.  When  the  woodlot  is 
too  small,  all  the  annual  product  and  some  of  the  produc- 
ing stock  are  taken,  thus  decreasing  the  output  yearly. 
Nearly  every  woodlot  is  deteriorating  in  quality  under 
the  present  system  of  management.  The  most  desirable 
species  are  cut  until  they  are  all  gone  and  the  undesirable 
species  are  left  to  seed  up  the  vacant  places.  A  few  years 
of  such  treatment  leaves  a  tangle  of  tree  weeds,  worthless 
for  almost  any  purposes  except  firewood.  A  little  care  in 
the  selection  of  trees  for  cutting  would  make  it  possible 
to  utilize  most  of  this  poor  timber  for  firewood  before  the 
good  species  are  cut  and  thus  insure  the  seeding  of  the 
ground  by  the  better  species.  In  this  way  the  value  of 
the  woodlot  may  be  improved  from  year  to  year  instead 
of  lowered.  This  properly  belongs  to  sylviculture  and  will 
be  taken  up  in  detail  under  the  head  of  "The  Care  of  the 
Woodlot." 

TRESPASS 

s  There  is  no  form  of  property  that  is  so  liable  to  trespass 
as  forests.  There  is  a  very  general  idea  that  the  forest 
is  common  property  and  open  to  the  public  for  hunting, 
picnics  and  wood  supplies  of  all  kinds.  The  small  woodlot 
is  not  exposed  so  much  to  theft  as  to  hunters  and  tramps 
who  are  likely  to  set  fires.  However,  when  the  woodlot 
borders  on  the  property  of  another,  especially  forest  land, 


Forest  Protection  167 

the  line  should  be  carefully  surveyed  and  clearly  defined. 
Both  parties  should  be  witness  to  the  accuracy  of  the  sur- 
vey and  testify  the  same  on  the  map  or  survey  notes.  If 
the  woodlot  lies  at  some  distance  from  the  house  and  re- 
mote from  a  well-traveled  road,  it  should  be  visited  oc- 
casionally to  see  that  no  one  is  trespassing.  Not  only  is 
the  wood  lost  by  the  theft,  but  the  whole  scheme  of  man- 
agement is  upset  by  the  promiscuous  cutting. 

WINDFALL 

Windfall  is  likely  to  occur  only  when  the  woodlot  is 
made  up  of  shallow-rooted  species,  such  as  the  spruce, 
beech,  birch,  balsam  and  tamarack.  It  is  usually  caused 
by  winds  that  blow  fairly  consistently  from  some  one  direc- 
tion. Damage  is  prevented  by  leaving  a  row  or  two  of 
deep-rooted  species  along  the  windward  boundary  for  a 
windbreak  and  never  exposing  the  shallow-rooted  trees 
to  the  full  force  of  the  winds  by  cutting  the  wind-firm  trees 
around  them.  This  is  quite  easily  done  because  the 
shallow-rooted  trees  are  usually  shorter  and  located  on 
lower  ground  where  the  wind  is  not  so  likely  to  strike 
them.  In  case  the  woodlot  is  made  up  entirely  of  shallow- 
rooted  species,  it  is  necessary  to  accustom  them  to  the 
wind  and  *  thus  strengthen  their  roots  by  thinning  them 
gradually  and  not  making  any  heavy  cuttings  where  the 
remaining  trees  will  be  exposed  to  the  wind.  Should 
windfall  occur,  the  same  measures  that  are  described  under 
"  ground  fires  "  should  be  taken  at  once.  In  a  small  wood- 
lot,  little  loss  need  result. 


168  The  Farm  Woodlot 

SUNSCALD 

Sunscald  is  more  likely  to  occur  in  the  case  of  lawn  or 
park  trees  than  in  the  woodlot.  It  is  caused  by  the  direct 
rays  of  the  sun  scorching  the  bark  and  cambium  layer  of 
the  trunk.  Only  the  smooth,  thin-barked  trees  are  ex- 
posed to  this  danger.  Maples  and  basswoods  are  particu- 
larly susceptible.  It  almost  invariably  occurs  on  the 
southwest  side  where  the  sun  strikes  hottest.  The  burn- 
ing kills  the  growing  tissue  just  under  the  bark  and  causes 
the  bark  to  peel  off  in  patches.  The  result  is  an  ugly 
wound,  an  easy  mark  for  fungi,  that  weakens  the  trees  and 
sometimes  causes  their  death.  If  left  exposed,  such  a 
wound  can  never  heal  over.  In  the  lawn  or  park,  the 
trunks  of  these  thin-barked  trees  should  be  wrapped  with 
burlap  or  straw  until  the  crowns  have  grown  sufficiently 
to  shade  them.  In  the  woodlot  they  can  be  shaded  by 
other  trees  or  underbrush.  Sprouts  from  the  roots,  that 
do  not  look  well  on  ornamental  trees,  can  here  be  allowed 
to  grow  to  protect  the  trunk.  Care  should  be  taken  not 
to  leave  such  trees  exposed  on  the  south  or  west  side  of 
the  tract.  When  the  scalding  has  taken  place,  the  in- 
jured tree  should  be  cut  out  before  it  becomes  a  breeding 
place  for  insects  and  fungi.  The  lawn  tree,  if  wrapped 
before  the  scalding  has  spread  too  far,  will  heal  the  wound 
in  time,  but  such  a  healed-over  wound  is  especially  sus- 
ceptible and  should  never  be  exposed  again. 

INSECTS 

When  the  supply  of  timber  in  the  United  States  seemed 
unlimited,  the  comparatively  insignificant  ravages  of  the 


Forest  Protection  169 

insects  were  unnoticed,  but  as  the  supply  of  standing  tim- 
ber has  decreased,  the  work  of  the  insects  has  come  more 
to  our  notice  and  they  have  apparently  become  more 
numerous.  When  the  growth  of  our  forests  becomes  more 
concentrated  under  proper  management,  we  may  expect 
the  insects  to  play  a  more  important  part  as  they  do  in 
the  forests  of  Europe  to-day.  Up  to  the  present  time, 
comparatively  few  insects  are  known  to  have  done  exten- 
sive damage  in  this  country.  The  gipsy  and  brown- 
tailed  moths  have  worked  havoc  over  rather  limited  areas 
in  New  England.  The  larch  saw  fly  at  one  time  destroyed 
much  of  the  tamarack  in  the  Northeast.  The  white  pine 
weevil  frequently  does  considerable  damage  in  the  same 
district.  The  spruce-destroying  beetle  killed  all  the 
spruce  on  large  tracts  in  the  forests  of  West  Virginia  and 
the  pine-destroying  beetle  has  done  much  the  same 
damage  in  the  Black  Hills.  The  hickory  borer  is  fairly 
well  distributed  throughout  the  range  of  that  species  and 
the  locust  boreres  are  found  nearly  everywhere  that  the 
black  locust  or  mesquite  grows.  These  are  the  most 
important  of  the  insects  which  attack  the  trees  in  the  forest 
and  the  ones  to  be  fought  against  and  destroyed.  There 
are  several  others  that  do  considerable  damage  among 
lawn  and  park  trees,  but  have  never  yet  become  numerous 
enough  to  do  much  damage  in  the  forest.  The  most  im- 
portant of  these  are  the  elm  beetle  and  the  forest  tent  cater- 
pillar. These  insects  may  be  divided  into  two  classes : 
the  leaf -eaters,  which  work  mostly  on  street  and  lawn  trees, 
and  the  bark  borers,  which  work  wherever  their  favorite 
species  are  found. 


170  The  Farm  Woodlot 

The  gipsy  moth 

Of  all  the  insects  which  have  infested  the  trees  of  the 
United  States,  the  gipsy  moth  has  done  the  most  damage 
and  most  stubbornly  resisted  all  attempts  at  control.  It 
was  brought  to  this  country  from  Europe  in  1868  in  con- 
nection with  some  silk-producing  experiments.  It  es- 
caped from  captivity  in  Massachusetts  and  gradually 
increased  in  numbers  till  the  state  was  obliged  to  at- 
tempt its  extermination  in  1890.  It  spread  over  a  large 
portion  of  Massachusetts  and  invaded  New  Hampshire, 
Maine,  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island.  These  states 
have  spent  several  million  dollars  in  combating  it,  but  have 
not  yet  been  able  to  exterminate  it. 

The  moth  has  a  wing  spread  of  2J  inches,  and  is  a  dusky 
white  with  blackish  blotches  and  streaks.  The  eggs,  four 
or  five  hundred  of  them,  are  laid  in  July  and  August 
directly  on  the  bark  of  trees  or  on  fences,  walls,  and  the 
like.  They  form  an  irregular  oval  mass,  J  by  \\  inches,  of  a 
yellow  or  dark  creamy  color  from  the  hairs  or  scales  from 
the  body  of  the  female.  This  color  is  distinctive.  The 
eggs  hatch  about  May  1,  and  the  swarm  of  young  cater- 
pillars usually  become  full  grown  by  midsummer.  The 
mature  larva  has  a  dusky  or  sooty  colored  body.  Along 
the  back,  counting  from  the  head,  which  is  marked  with 
yellow,  is  a  double  row  of  six  pairs  of  red  spots.  It 
frequently  attains  a  length  of  3  inches.  They  become 
full  grown  during  July,  usually  about  the  first.  Injury 
occurs  in  May  and  June,  increasing  as  the  caterpillars  grow. 
When  fully  grown,  usually  in  July,  the  caterpillar  spins 
a  few  silken  threads  for  support,  casts  its  skin  and  changes 


Forest  Protection  171 

into  a  pupa  which  is  dark  reddish  or  chocolate  in  color  and 
very  thinly  sprinkled  with  dark  reddish  hairs.  The  pupa 
stage  lasts  from  ten  days  to  two  weeks,  while  the  cat- 
erpillar is  changing  to  a  moth. 

The  female  moth  does  not  fly  and  dies  soon  after  de- 
positing the  egg  mass,  which  remains  over  winter  on  the 
tree.  All  the  damage  is  caused  by  the  caterpillars.  The 
moth  spreads  in  the  caterpillar  stage  or  by  the  transporta- 
tion of  the  egg  clusters. 

The  caterpillar  feeds  on  any  species  of  tree  found  in 
Massachusetts  and  completely  defoliates  them.  Two  or 
three  defoliations  will  kill  the  hardwoods,  one  only  will 
kill  the  softwoods. 

The  insect  has  many  natural  enemies,  but  they  are  not 
sufficient  to  keep  it  in  check  without  human  aid.  The 
most  effective  method  is  the  soaking  of  the  egg  masses 
with  a  creosote  mixture  applied  with  a  small  swab  or 
brush.  The  trees  must  be  climbed  and  a  careful  search 
made  for  the  clusters.  Arsenate  of  lead,  10  pounds  to  100 
gallons  of  water,  may  also  be  used  effectively  as  a  spraying 
solution  when  the  caterpillars  are  small.  Since  the  cater- 
pillars crawl  up  the  trees  in  search  of  a  crevice  in  which 
to  lie  during  the  day,  a  loose  band  of  burlap  will  form  an 
inviting  retreat  in  which  many  will  collect.  This  must 
be  examined  daily  and  the  caterpillars  destroyed.  Bands 
of  paper  covered  with  printers'  ink  or  " tanglefoot"  catch 
many  and  prevent  them  from  going  up  the  trees. 

The  brown-tail  moth 

The  brown-tail  moth  (Euproctis  abrysorrhora)  was  in- 
troduced from  Europe  on  some  nursery  stock  in  1890. 


172  The  Farm  Woodlot 

Owing  to  the  flying  abilities  of  the  female,  the  spread  has 
been  very  rapid.  It  now  infests  about  the  same  territory 
as  the  gipsy  moth. 

The  winter  webs,  three  or  four  inches  long,  may  be 
found  on  the  tips  of  the  twigs  of  fruit  and  shade  trees. 
They  are  composed  of  silk  and  leaves  woven  into  a  tough 
net  which  is  bound  to  the  twig  by  silk  and  leaf  stems. 
This  is  filled  with  a  mass  of  small,  brown,  hairy  cater- 
pillars -J-  inch  long.  The  little  caterpillars  emerge  late 
in  April  and  early  May  and  attack  the  opening  buds. 
These  nests  contain  400  to  900  caterpillars.  These  are  of 
a  blackish  color,  covered  with  warm  brown  or  reddish 
brown  hairs.  The  head  is  jet  black,  while  the  body  is 
marked  with  yellow.  Projecting  from  the  back  of  the 
fourth  and  fifth  segments  is  a  large  tuft  of  reddish  brown 
hairs  looking  like  a  brush,  and  two-thirds  the  height  of  the 
body.  On  the  middle  line  of  both  the  ninth  and  tenth 
segments  is  an  orange  or  coral  red  retractile  tubercle.  By 
the  second  week  in  June  the  caterpillar  has  attained  its 
full  growth,  1  to  1J  inches  in  length,  and  has  molted  three 
or  four  times.  Its  head  is  then  a  pale  brown,  mottled 
with  darker  brown.  The  body  is  a  dark  brown  or  black, 
well  marked  with  patches  of  orange  and  covered  with 
some  cross  tubercles  bearing  long  barbed  hairs.  The 
white  dashes  along  the  sides  of  the  abdomen  are  more 
prominent  and  enable  the  immediate  identification  of 
the  caterpillar.  During  the  second  week  in  June  they 
pupate,  spinning  their  cocoons  of  white  silk  among  the 
leaves.  This  stage  lasts  about  twenty  days.  Most 
of  the  moths  emerge  during  the  second  week  of  July. 
They  usually  emerge  late  in  the  afternoon  and  are  ready 


Forest  Protection  173 

to  fly  that  night.  Both  sexes  are  pure  white,  except  the 
abdomen,  which  is  dark  brown.  The  wing  spread  is  from 
1J  to  1|  inches.  The  tip  of  the  abdomen  of  the  female 
forms  a  large  tuft  or  brush  of  golden  or  dark  brown  hairs, 
to  which  is  due  the  name  of  the  insect.  They  are  strong 
fliers  and  readily  attracted  by  lights.  Egg-laying  com- 
mences at  once.  The  egg  mass,  dark  brown  in  color  from 
the  hairs  from  the  tip  of  the  female's  abdomen,  is  laid  on 
the  under  side  of  a  leaf  near  the  outside  of  the  tree.  It  is 
about  J  by  J  inch  and  contains  from  two  to  four  hundred 
eggs.  It  is  decidedly  convex  and  ridged.  The  eggs 
hatch  in  about  three  weeks,  about  the  first  of  August. 
The  young  caterpillars  feed  upon  the  surfaces  of  leaves, 
skeletonizing  them,  and  when  abundant  causing  the 
leaves  to  turn  brown.  They  grow  rapidly  and  spread  over 
the  tree.  In  September  they  weave  the  web  for  their 
winter  home. 

The  brown-tail  moth  prefers  fruit  trees,  but  when  very 
numerous  attacks  all  kinds  of  shade  and  forest  trees.  The 
damage  is  caused  by  defoliations,  as  in  the  case  of  the  gipsy 
moth.  In  addition  to  the  danger  to  the  trees,  the  fine 
hairs  from  the  tubercles  on  the  caterpillars  are  blown  about 
by  the  wind  at  the  time  of  molting  and  cause  a  painful 
skin  irritation  wherever  they  light. 

The  best  known  remedy  is  the  collection  of  the  winter 
webs  between  October  1  and  April  1.  They  should  be 
clipped  off  with  long  pruning  shears  and  burned  in  a  stove, 
since  they  do  not  burn  readily  in  the  open. 

Spraying  of  the  caterpillars  in  early  August  is  also 
effective.  The  caterpillars  are  much  more  susceptible 
than  those  of  the  gipsy  moth.  This,  however,  is  more 


174  The  Farm  Woodlot 

expensive.  The  banding  of  the  trees  with  tanglefoot  is 
also  successful  in  the  case  of  isolated  trees,  but  the  bands 
must  be  constantly  watched  to  see  that  they  do  not  be- 
come covered  with  dust,  webs  or  dead  caterpillars.  De- 
struction of  the  pupae  in  June  and  early  July  is  usually 
accompanied  by  severe  poisoning. 

The  pine-destroying  beetle  of  the  Black  Hills 

This  pine  beetle  (Dendroctinus  ponder  osa) ,  is  one  of  the 
most  active  and  destructive  insects  in  the  West  and  has 
already  ruined  large  areas  of  timber  in  the  Black  Hills. 
It  is  not,  however,  of  very  great  importance  from  one 
point  of  view,  because  the  bull  pine,  the  species  most 
subject  to  its  attacks,  is  not  very  well  adapted  to  woodlot 
growth. 

Hopkins  describes  the  adult  as  "a  stout,  dark  brown 
to  black  beetle,  individuals  of  which  vary  in  length  from 
about  i  to  J  inch." 

The  presence  of  the  insect  may  be  discovered  by  the  fine, 
powdered  dust  sifting  down  the  trunk  of  the  tree.  It 
first  appears  in  August,  when  the  adult  beetles  settle  on 
the  trees  in  swarms,  and  start  their  galleries,  the  resin  and 
sawdust  being  pushed  out  of  the  opening  where  they  form 
pitch  tubes  around  the  holes.  These  galleries  are  usually 
almost  straight  cut  in  the  soft  inner  bark,  often  grooving 
the  wood,  and  the  eggs  are  laid  in  the  notches  along  the 
sides.  When  the  larvae  hatch  they  start  side  galleries, 
at  right  angles  to  the  primary  gallery,  that  increase  in  size 
as  the  larvae  grow.  At  the  end  of  this  gallery  the  full- 
grown  larvae  dig  a  widened  cavity  in  which  pupation 
takes  place.  The  adult  digs  from  this  cavity  through  the 


Forest  Protection  175 

bark  and  passes  on  to  another  tree.  A  great  number  of 
these  galleries  will  girdle  the  tree  and  interfere  seriously 
with  the  movement  of  sap. 

If  the  insects  are  in  sufficient  numbers,  the  tree  is  killed. 
The  needles  turn  red  the  first  year,  a  number  of  secondary 
enemies  attack  the  weakened  tree,  fungi  enter  the  wounds 
and  in  three  or  four  years  the  tree  is  worthless. 

The  beetle  is  best  kept  in  check  by  cutting  the  infected 
trees,  for  it  is  in  these  weakened  and  dying  trees  that 
they  multiply.  The  trees  felled  should  be  peeled  or 
placed  in  a  pond  to  kill  the  larvae.  When  the  cutting  can 
be  carefully  regulated,  the  insects  can  be  controlled  easily 
in  this  way,  —  for  they  must  be  present  in  great  numbers 
to  successfully  attack  living  trees. 

The  spruce-destroying  beetle 

The  spruce  of  the  northwestern  part  of  the  United 
States  finds  its  most  formidable  enemy  in  the  Dendroctinus 
piceaperda,  the  spruce-destroying  beetle.  It  has  destroyed 
vast  quantities  of  spruce  timber  in  Maine,  New  Hampshire 
and  West  Virginia  and  is  still  active  in  those  regions. 

According  to  Hopkins  "The  adult  varies  from  T3F  to 
•fs  inch  in  length  and  from  iV  to  -£&  inch  in  width.  It 
also  varies  in  color  from  light  yellowish  brown  in  the 
younger  specimens  to  reddish  brown  or  nearly  black  in 
mature  stages.  The  egg  is  small  and  pearly  white  like 
that  of  most  bark  beetles." 

The  larva  hatches  out  a  minute,  white  legless  grub  and 
feeds  on  the  inner  bark  till  it  increases  to  a  size  slightly 
larger  than  the  adult.  It  may  be  distinguished  by  a  dark 
yellowish  brown  space  on  the  upper  surface  of  each  of  the 


176  The  Farm  Woodlot 

last  two  abdominal  segments.  The  pupa  is  nearly  white, 
of  the  same  size  and  somewhat  the  same  form  as  the  adult, 
but  without  free  legs  and  wings,  and  is  found  in  oblong 
cavities  in  the  bark  where  the  broods  develop. 

The  insects  hibernate  in  the  bark  in  the  form  of  adults 
and  larvae,  —  the  eggs  and  pupae  cannot  stand  the  cold  — 
from  October  to  the  first  week  in  June.  Activity  then 
commences ;  the  mature  larvae  change  to  pupae  and  the 
adults  lay  their  eggs  in  about  twenty  days,  ten  more  and 
the  larvae  hatch,  thirty  more  and  the  larvae  are  mature. 
In  eighty  days  from  the  time  activity  commences,  the 
first  adults  develop.  They  continue  to  develop  till  the 
last  of  September,  but  continue  in  the  bark  till  activity 
ceases.  Thus  the  insect  spends  eleven  of  the  twelve 
months  in  the  bark  and  is  dormant  seven  and  a  half  out 
of  that  eleven. 

The  evidences  of  work  are  much  the  same  as  those  in 
the  case  of  Dendroctinus  ponderosa.  Pitch  tubes  are 
formed  on  the  bark,  fine  sawdust  is  thrown  out  from  the 
galleries  of  the  larvae,  the  leaves  turn  a  light  gray-green 
and  soon  fall  off.  The  twigs  turn  reddish.  One  season's 
work  is  usually  enough  to  kill  the  tree,  unless  the  attack 
is  confined  wholly  to  one  side,  for  the  galleries  of  the  adults 
and  larvae  in  the  inner  bark  completely  girdle  the  tree. 

All  practical  remedies  lie  along  the  line  of  carefully 
directed  cutting.  The  beetles  are  dependent  on  the  pres- 
ence of  large  numbers  for  their  ability  to  attack  living 
trees.  Since  most  of  the  beetles  are  located  in  the  mer- 
chantable part  of  the  tree,  the  logging,  provided  the  logs 
are  placed  in  a  pond  or  peeled,  kills  large  numbers  of 
them  and  may  reduce  the  number  below  the  point  at 


Forest  Protection  177 

which  they  can  attack  living  trees.  The  weakened  con- 
dition of  the  trees  girdled  for  trap  trees  attracts  many 
and  the  logging  of  these  trap  trees  destroys  them.  Other 
methods  are  too  expensive  to  be  practical. 

Elm-leaf  beetle 

The  elm-leaf  beetle  (Galerucella  luteola)  is  one  of  the 
most  familiar  enemies  of  the  elm  tree  throughout  its 
range.  It  has  destroyed  thousands  of  shade  and  lawn 
trees,  and,  when  numerous,  frequently  spreads  to  the 
woodlot  and  forest.  It  is  evidenced  by  the  skeletonized 
brown  leaves  in  midsummer  and  the  falling  caterpillars. 

The  beetle  is  f  inch  long,  orange  and  black  when  young 
and  a  dull  bronze-green  when  he  has  wintered  over. 
The  caterpillar  is  ^V  mch  l°ng  when  young,  hairy  and 
almost  black,  but  grows  to  J  inch  in  length  and  changes 
to  yellow  and  black.  The  pupa  is  a  bright  orange-yellow 
and  J  inch  long.  The  eggs  are  an  orange-yellow,  3-26 
of  them  being  in  irregular  rows  on  the  underside  of  the 
leaves. 

The  elm-leaf  beetles  winter  over  in  attics,  sheds  and 
other  protected  places.  They  fly  to  the  trees  with  the 
coming  of  the  leaves,  eating  irregular  holes  in  the  foliage 
and  feeding  for  some  time  before  they  begin  to  lay.  They 
lay  a  few  eggs  daily  for  a  month  or  six  weeks  and  sometimes 
total  as  many  as  650.  The  eggs  hatch  in  less  than  a  week 
and  the  grubs  appear  about  the  middle  of  June.  These 
larvae  feed  on  the  under  surfaces  of  the  leaves  and  skele- 
tonize them.  They  are  full  grown  in  15-20  days,  and  wan- 
der down  the  trunk  to  pupate  in  some  crack  or  other 
slight  shelter.  This  is  accomplished  in  about  seven  days. 


178  The  Farm  Woodlot 

These  busy  little  fellows  sometimes  start  a  second  brood 
in  July  and  even  a  third  one  in  October.  If  the  leaves 
are  stripped  off  a  tree  two  or  three  times  for  a  couple  of 
seasons,  it  dies. 

To  destroy  these  beetles,  spray  the  underside  of  the 
leaves  with  arsenical  poison  early  in  spring,  or  spray 
kerosene  emulsion  on  the  pupae  on  the  ground  or  lower 
trunk  of  tree.  There  is  no  effective  remedy  in  the  forest. 

Bronze  birch  borer 

The  adult  of  this  beetle  (Agrilus  anxius)  is  a  beetle  from 
T\  to  |  inch  in  length  and  olive-brown  in  color.  The  pupa 
is  white,  slender  in  form  and  about  J  inch  in  length.  The 
larva  is  a  grub  f  inch  long,  and  a  creamy  white  with 
black  mouth  parts. 

This  insect  is  very  common  throughout  the  North,  es- 
pecially where  the  cut-leaf  birch  is  plentiful.  It  has  played 
havoc  with  thousands  of  birch  trees  in  our  parks  and 
lawns  and  has,  in  a  few  instances,  attacked  the  white  birch 
in  the  forest.  Unless  a  careful  lookout  is  kept,  the  dam- 
age is  accomplished  before  the  cause  is  located.  The 
surest  sign  of  its  presence  is  the  dying  of  the  top  branches. 

The  beetles  appear  in  the  early  summer,  the  eggs  are 
laid  and  the  larvae  enter  the  tree  in  the  fall  and  winter 
under  the  bark  in  the  upper  branches  of  the  tree.  With 
the  warm  weather  in  the  spring,  they  begin  burrowing  in 
the  soft  cambium.  Their  presence  may  be  traced  by 
lightly  reddish  welts  or  streaks  on  the  bark.  Their 
galleries  are  sinuous,  irregular  and  much  interlaced.  They 
pupate  in  May. 

In  a  woodlot  the  only  practical  remedy  is  to  cut  down 


Forest  Protection  179 

the  infested  tree  in  winter  or  early  spring  and  carefully 
burn  all  parts  of  it.  In  the  case  of  valuable  lawn  trees, 
it  may  be  possible  to  cut  away  only  the  infested  branches, 
if  they  can  all  be  discovered.  It  may  be  a  help  to  band 
the  trunks  of  the  trees  in  May  with  raw  cotton  or  sticky 
paper  and  kill  the  beetles  so  caught.  Usually,  however, 
the  tree  is  injured  beyond  help  before  the  insects  are  dis- 
covered, and  it  should  be  destroyed  to  prevent  the  injury 
of  other  trees. 

Forest  tent-caterpillar 

This  insect  (Malacosoma  disstria)  is  found  practically  all 
over  the  United  States  and  has  been  known  from  time  to 
time  to  destroy  large  tracts  of  forest  in  different  parts  of 
the  country.  They  have  several  times  become  so  nu- 
merous as  to  stop  railroad  trains. 

The  moth  is  small,  light  buff-colored  and  very  active. 
The  caterpillars  are  almost  black,  with  a  row  of  whitish 
diamonds  down  the  back.  The  pupae  are  found  in  white 
or  yellowish  cocoons  in  any  convenient  place. 

The  moths  appear  in  June  or  July  and  deposit  their 
eggs  in  July,  usually  on  the  lower  twigs.  The  larvae  re- 
main in  the  eggs  over  winter  and  hatch  out  with  the  warm 
weather  in  the  spring.  They  immediately  begin  stripping 
the  leaves,  on  which  they  feed  till  about  the  first  of  June. 
They  then  begin  to  wander  about  to  find  a  place  to  pupate. 
This  requires  about  two  weeks.  They  seem  to  prefer  the 
sugar  maple  in  the  North  and  the  oaks  in  the  South,  but 
when  they  become  very  numerous,  they  will  attack  any- 
thing. 

There  are  several  remedies  that  may  be  used  in  the  case 


180  The  Farm  Woodlot 

of  valuable  shade  trees,  but  nothing  for  the  woodlot, 
except  the  cutting  out  of  the  infested  trees.  The  lower 
twigs  may  be  trimmed  and  burned  in  winter,  thus  de- 
stroying the  eggs  ;  the  caterpillars  may  be  jarred  from  the 
trees  with  a  padded  mallet  and  crushed ;  the  egg  clusters 
may  be  sprayed  with  kerosene  emulsion  or  whale  oil  soap ; 
the  cocoons  may  be  destroyed.  These  methods  will  be 
very  effective  if  they  are  undertaken  before  the  insects 
become  too  numerous. 

Fall  web-worm 

This  widespread  insect  (Hypantria  textor)  is  one  of  our 
most  destructive  leaf  eaters.  It  is  found  all  over  the 
United  States  east  of  the  Rockies  and  feeds  on  a  large 
number  of  species,  including  white  elm,  willows,  poplars 
and  all  fruit  trees.  It  can  be  identified  readily  by  the 
conspicuous  web  tents  on  the  tips  of  the  branches  and 
including  the  leaves,  which  are  soon  skeletonized  and  turn 
brown.  The  webs  are  never  in  the  crotches. 

The  moth  varies  from  pure  white  to  much  spotted  with 
black.  The  caterpillar  is  hairy,  yellowish  brown  and 
black,  the  hairs  springing  in  clusters  from  black  and 
orange  tubercles.  The  cocoon  is  thin  and  mixed  with 
larval  hairs,  and  is  found  at  or  near  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  The  eggs  are  in  yellow  clusters  on  the  underside 
of  the  leaves. 

Moths  are  seen  flying  from  early  in  June  to  the  middle 
of  August.  The  eggs  hatch  in  seven  to  ten  days  and  the 
caterpillars  begin  to  appear  in  the  latter  part  of  June, 
but  are  thickest  in  August.  They  spin  their  web  at  once, 
and  feed  on  the  upper  surfaces  of  the  leaves  within.  They 


Forest  Protection  181 

enlarge  their  webs  from  time  to  time  to  include  more 
food.  When  a  month  old,  they  descend  trees  to  pupate 
on  or  in  the  ground. 

To  destroy  these  insects,  burn  the  web  carefully,  and  see 
that  none  escape.  Spray  with  arsenical  poisons  about 
the  time  the  caterpillars  appear.  Hogs  turned  into  a 
plantation  will  root  up  and  eat  thousands  of  the  cocoons. 

The  locust  borer 

This  insect  (Cyllene  robinice)  has  done  an  enormous 
amount  of  damage  not  only  by  destroying  trees,  but  also 
in  many  parts  of  the  country  by  forcing  the  abandonment 
of  an  attempt  to  plant  the  black  locust,  which  would 
otherwise  be  a  very  valuable  plantation  tree. 

The  beetle  is  J  to  f  inch  long,  brightly  marked  with 
golden  yellow,  with  the  antennae  and  legs  dull  yellowish. 
The  pupa  is  f  inch  long,  flattened  and  yellowish.  The 
larva  is  -£$  to  y7^  inch  long,  flattened  and  club-shaped. 

Beetles  appear  on  the  trees  in  great  numbers  in  Septem- 
ber. The  eggs  are  laid  in  crevices  of  the  bark.  They 
soon  hatch  and  the  larvae  immediately  bore  into  the  cam- 
bium, where  they  spend  the  winter.  With  the  warm 
spring  days,  they  start  activities  again,  only  this  time  they 
bore  into  the  heartwood.  The  gallery  is  about  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  in  diameter  and  usually  curves  upward.  The 
larvae  pupate  about  the  middle  of  July  and  the  beetles 
come  out  in  September. 

The  presence  of  the  insects  is  evidenced  by  holes  in  the 
bark  from  which  the  sap  runs,  a  deadening  of  the  cam- 
bium and  consequent  loosening  of  the  bark,  and  sawdust 
around  the  base  of  the  tree.  As  a  rule,  they  do  not  attack 


182  The  Farm  Woodlot 

trees  under  four  or  five  inches  in  diameter,  so  that  they  will 
usually  reach  fence-post  size  before  the  borer  attacks 
them.  This,  however,  does  not  always  hold  true,  and  oc- 
casionally trees  of  one  or  two  inches  are  badly  riddled. 

Little  can  be  done  to  destroy  these  borers  except  to  cut 
down  and  burn  the  infected  trees  in  winter  or  early  spring. 
The  insects  seem  to  attack  more  readily  the  trunks  that 
are  in  full  sunlight  and  hence  dense  planting  may  be  a 
preventive.  They  can  be  kept  from  lawn  trees  by 
spraying  or  painting  the  trunks  with  something  offensive 
to  the  insects.  This  is  somewhat  objectionable,  and  too 
expensive  to  apply  in  plantations. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
FOREST  MENSURATION 

FOREST  mensuration  is  the  measurement  of  the  crop. 
It  is  generally  conceded  to  be  the  proof  of  all  forestry  work. 
Without  measurement,  one  can  know  nothing  of  the  con- 
tents, value  or  growth  of  his  forest.  The  most  compli- 
cated parts  of  the  science  arise  in  the  handling  of  exten- 
sive forests  and  concern  only  the  professional  forester; 
the  operations  necessary  in  the  management  of  a  woodlot 
are  very  simple  and  should  be  familiar  to  every  farmer. 
Many  a  farmer  loses  fully  half  of  what  is  really  his  due 
because  he  does  not  know  what  is  in  his  woodlot,  how  to 
measure  the  quantity  of  its  products  or  how  to  estimate 
its  real  value. 

The  unit  in  the  measurement  of  all  kinds  of  lumber, 
whether  boards  or  dimension  stuff,  is  the  board  foot,  - 
a  board  one  inch  thick,  one  foot  wide  and  one  foot  long. 
For  example  :  an  inch  board  one  foot  wide  and  sixteen  feet 
long  contains  sixteen  board  feet ;  written  16  ft.  B.M. 
(measuring  16  ft.  board  measure).  A  two-inch  plank  of 
the  same  dimensions  contains  32  ft.  B.M.  A  "2X4" 
twelve  feet  long  is  equivalent  to  an  inch  board  eight  inches, 
or  two-thirds  of  a  foot,  wide  and  contains  eight  board  feet ; 
8  ft.  B.M.  A  half-inch  board  six  inches  wide  and  12  ft. 
long  actually  contains  3  ft.  but  usually  is  counted  as  inch 
material,  on  account  of  the  increased  labor  and  increased 

183 


184  The  Farm  Woodlot 

waste  in  sawing,  and  would  be  considered  6  ft.  B.M. 
The  two-inch  plank  would  not  really  make  two  inch  boards 
if  sawn,  because  an  eighth  or  sometimes  a  quarter  of  an 
inch,  —  according  to  whether  a  band  saw  or  a  circular 
saw  is  used,  —  is  lost  in  sawdust.  But  this  is  not  taken 
into  account  in  measuring  the  thicker  pieces.  And  so 
it  is  evident  that  there  is  more  waste  in  sawing  inch 
boards  than  in  thicker  material.  The  prices  of  lumber 
are  usually  quoted  at  so  much  a  thousand  feet  board 
measure ;  written  1  M.B.M. 

Lumber  (which  is  an  Americanism  for  boards)  is  meas- 
ured by  means  of  a  lumber  rule  on  which  there  are  six  or 
eight  scales,  one  for  each  common  length,  on  which  the 
contents  of  one-inch  boards  are  calculated  for  all  widths. 
The  sealer  must  estimate  or  measure  the  thickness  of  each 
board  and  throw  away  all  fractions.  Thus,  the  sealer 
comes  to  a  sixteen  and  a  half  foot  plank.  He  turns  to  the 
sixteen-foot  scale  and  measures  the  width.  If  it  is  twelve 
and  a  half  inches  wide,  he  looks  opposite  the  twelve-inch 
mark  in  the  sixteen-foot  scale  and  finds  the  figure  16  — 
the  contents  in  board  feet  of  a  one-inch  board  twelve  inches 
wide  and  sixteen  feet  long.  He  finds  that  the  plank  is 
two  inches  thick.  He  doubles  the  figure  given  on  the 
scale  and  writes  down  32  ft.  B.M.  as  the  contents  of  the 
plank.  He  disregards  the  extra  half  inch  in  width  and  the 
extra  six  inches  in  length.  Hence  the  cutting  of  odd  widths 
and  lengths  is  always  a  loss  to  the  owner.  The  most 
convenient  time  for  scaling  lumber  is  just  as  it  comes  from 
the  saw  and  before  it  is  piled. 

Fence  posts  are  sold  by  the  piece  and  are  graded,  accord- 
ing to  the  length  and  the  diameter  at  the  small  end,  into 


Forest  Mensuration  185 

standard  grades.  These  grades  vary  in  different  parts  of 
the  country  and  for  different  species.  A  chestnut  post  in 
the  East  must  be  seven  feet  long  and  six  inches  at  the 
small  end  ;  for  a  locust  post,  three  inches  at  the  small  end 
is  standard.  As  a  rule,  the  standards  are  of  a  little  smaller 
size  in  the  West,  or  wherever  the  posts  have  to  be  shipped 
by  rail. 

Piling  is  sold  by  the  lineal  foot  and  graded  according  to 
length  and  diameter.  Railroad  ties  are  sold  by  the  piece. 
They  must  be  cut  according  to  the  specifications  of  the 
railroad  to  which  they  are  to  be  sold.  As  these  specifica- 
tions vary  from  time  to  time  and  for  the  different  roads, 
a  copy  of  them  should  always  be  secured  just  before  the 
ties  are  cut.  A  different  grading  of  the  ties  according  to 
width  of  face  and  depth  may  make  a  great  difference  in 
the  total  returns.  It  must  be  remembered  that  a  tie 
contains  about  thirty  board  feet  and  it  should  be  carefully 
considered  whether  a  tree  can  be  most  economically  used 
for  ties,  posts,  piling,  poles  or  saw  logs.  It  is  rarely  ad- 
visable to  cut  all  the  trees  into  the  same  product,  and  each 
part  of  the  tree  should  be  devoted  to  the  product  that  will 
bring  the  best  returns.  It  seldom  is  profitable  to  split 
a  large  tree  into  posts  or  ties  unless  it  is  a  species  especially 
suited  to  that  form  of  product. 

Telephone  poles  are  graded  according  to  length  and  diam- 
eter at  small  end.  Logs  usually  are  measured  by  the 
same  standard  unit  as  lumber,  —  the  board  foot.  For 
example,  a  log  is  said  to  contain  200  ft.  B.M.,  when  the 
lumber  sawed  from  it  will  scale  200  ft.  B.M.  For  the  pur- 
pose of  measuring  logs,  the  contents  of  logs  of  all  lengths, 
diameters  and  species  have  been  worked  out  and  tabu- 


186  The  Farm  Woodlot 

lated.  Such  a  table  is  called  a  log  rule.  There  are  forty 
or  fifty  of  these  rules  in  common  use  in  the  United  States. 
Some  are  based  on  diagrams,  some  on  mathematical 
formulae  and  still  others  on  the  actual  results  measured 
at  the  tail  of  the  saw.  All  of  them  are  more  or  less  inaccu- 
rate. One  that  is  accurate  in  one  region  will  not  be  at 
all  accurate  in  another  in  which  the  character  of  the  timber 
is  different.  For  this  reason,  the  rule  that  is  considered 
the  best  suited  to  the  timber  of  a  certain  region  usually  is 
selected  as  the  legal  standard  of  that  state.  Other  rules  may 
be  used  in  private  contracts,  but  in  all  state  business  and 
all  law  suits  in  which  the  scale  is  not  mentioned,  the 
state  standard  must  prevail.  The  Scribner  and  Doyle 
rules  are  those  most  widely  used  in  the  country. 

Logs  are  measured  by  means  of  a  scale  stick.  This 
somewhat  resembles  a  lumber  scale.  It  usually  is  made  of 
hickory  and  finished  on  one  end  with  a  convenient  handle, 
on  the  other  with  a  metal  ferrule.  On  it  are  printed  six 
or  eight  rows  of  figures  representing  the  different  standard 
log  lengths :  twelve,  fourteen,  sixteen,  eighteen,  twenty, 
twenty-two  and  twenty-four  feet.  In  each  row,  opposite 
the  inch  marks  on  one  edge,  are  the  figures  representing 
the  number  of  board  feet  in  a  log  of  that  length  and 
diameter.  Thus,  for  example,  a  sealer  approaches  a  log, 
seventeen  feet  long  and  fifteen  inches  in  diameter  at  the 
small  end,  with  the  Doyle  rule.  He  disregards  the  odd 
foot  in  length  and  turns  to  the  sixteen-foot  column  on  his 
rule.  All  logs  are  scaled  down  to  the  nearest  even  length 
represented  on  the  rule.  The  sealer  lays  the  rule  across 
the  small  end  of  the  log,  —  for  all  logs  are  scaled  on  the 
small  end,  —  and  measures  the  diameter  inside  the  bark, 


Forest  Mensuration  187 

being  careful  to  get  the  average  diameter  if  the  log 
is  not  round.  Opposite  the  fifteen-inch  mark  and  in  the 
sixteen-foot  row  he  finds  121  ft!  This  he  records  as  the 
contents  of  the  log. 

Any  one  can  scale  sound  and  straight  logs  when  the 
contents  may  be  read  directly  from  the  scale,  but  much 
experience  is  needed  to  scale  crooked  or  defective  logs 
with  any  degree  of  accuracy.  The  number  of  board 
feet  that  the  defect  will  spoil  must  be  estimated  and 
deducted  from  the  amount  given  by  the  scale.  It  is 
wholly  a  matter  of  experience  and  judgment. 

ALLOWANCE   FOR   DEFECTS    IN    SCALING 

The  only  difficult  thing  about  scaling  logs  is  the  determi- 
nation of  the  allowance  to  be  made  for  defects.  Since  this 
is  learned  by  the  sealer  only  through  long  years  of  experi- 
ence and  actual  observations  of  the  sawing  out  of  defective 
logs  at  the  mill,  it  cannot  very  well  be  picked  up  by  the 
farmer  in  the  comparatively  little  practice  that  he  receives 
in  scaling.  Allowance  for  defect  must  be  largely  a  matter 
of  guess  work  with  him. 

Some  attempts  have  been  made  to  systematize  this 
discounting  for  defects  and  reduce  the  results  to  tables 
showing  the  number  of  board  feet  to  be  deducted  for  a 
certain  size  and  form  of  defect.  For  the  aid  of  the  in- 
experienced farmer  some  tables  worked  up  by  H.  D. 
Tiemari  of  the  Yale  Forest  School  are  inserted  here, 
quoted  from  H.  S.  Graves'  book  on  "  Forest  Mensuration." 

A  cull  table  for  center  defects.  —  "This  table  is  appli- 
cable to  all  center  defects,  such  as  holes,  cup  shake,  rot, 
etc.,  which  are  four  inches  or  more  from  the  bark.  To 


188 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


apply  the  table,  measure  the  longest  diameter  of  the  defect, 
find  the  loss  in  board  feet  from  the  cull  table,  and  deduct 
from  the  gross  scale  of  the  log.  If  the  defect  runs  through 
the  log,  or  if  it  appears  only  at  the  large  end,  measure  the 
defect  at  the  large  end,  otherwise  at  the  small  end.  The 
table  should  be  used  only  with  short  logs." 

CULL   TABLE   A 

Loss  BY  DEFECTS  OF  DIFFERENT  DIAMETER  NEAR  THE  CENTER 
OF  LOGS.  (GOOD  FOR  DEFECTS  MORE  THAN  4  INCHES  FROM 
THE  BARK) 


DIAM- 

LENGTH OF  LOGS  IN  FEET 

ETER 

OF 

DEFECT 

10 

12 

13 

14 

16 

18 

20 

INCHES 

BOARD  FEET 

2 

5 

6 

6.5 

7 

8 

9 

10 

3 

9 

11 

12 

13 

15 

16.5 

18 

4 

14 

17 

18 

20 

23 

25.5 

28 

5 

20 

24 

26 

28 

32 

36 

40 

6 

27.5 

33 

36 

38.5 

42 

49.5 

55 

7 

36 

43 

47 

50 

57 

65 

72 

8 

45 

54 

58.5 

63 

72 

81 

90 

9 

56 

67 

74 

78 

89 

100 

112 

10 

67 

81 

87 

93 

107 

120 

133 

11 

80 

96 

104 

112 

128 

144  • 

160 

12 

94 

113 

122 

132 

151 

169.5 

188 

13 

109 

131 

142 

153 

175 

196.5 

218 

14 

125 

150 

162.5 

175 

200 

225 

250 

15 

142 

171 

184 

218 

226 

255 

283 

Discounts  for  defects  near  the  edge   of  logs.  —  ''Under 
this   head  may  be  included   rot,   splits   due  to  careless 


Forest  Mensuration 


189 


felling,  superficial  shake  due  to  fire  scars,  sunscald,  frosts, 
or  any  other  defects  which  require  the  removal  of  a 
wide  slab.  The  sealer  measures  the  width  of  the  slab 
which  would  obviously  have  to  be  cut  off,  finds  in  the  table 
the  loss  in  board  feet,  and  deducts  this  from  the  gross 
scale  of  the  log.  If  the  defect  runs  through  the  log,  follow- 
ing the  grain,  and  does  not  extend  deeper  at  the  large 
than  at  the  small  end,  the  measurement  is  taken  at  the 
top.  If  the  defect  appears  only  at  the  large  end,  or 
extends  relatively  nearer  the  center  than  at  the  small  end, 
the  sealer  must  estimate  the  width  of  the  slab,  at  the 
small  end,  which  would  have  to  be  taken  off." 

CULL   TABLE   B 
Loss  BY  CUTTING  SLABS  FROM  ONE  SIDE  OF  10-FooT  LOGS 


§gg 

DIAMETER  OF  LOG  IN  INCHES 

6 

8 

10 

12 

14 

16 

18 

20 

22 

24 

26 

BOARD  FEET 


1 

0 

0 

1 

1 

2 

3 

3 

3 

3 

4 

4 

2 

3 

4 

5 

5 

6 

7 

8 

8 

8 

10 

10 

3 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

13 

14 

15 

15 

16 

17 

4 

14 

15 

17 

19 

20 

22 

23 

25 

26 

28 

5 

22 

24 

26 

28 

30 

33 

35 

37 

39 

6 

33 

35 

38 

41 

43 

46 

49 

52 

7 

45 

49 

52 

55 

59 

62 

65 

8 

60 

65 

68 

73 

76 

80 

9 

77 

82 

86 

91 

96 

10 

97 

102 

107 

112 

11 

119 

124 

129 

12 

141 

148 

13 

167 

190 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


CULL   TABLE   B 
Loss  BY  CUTTING  SLABS  FROM  ONE  SIDE  OF  12-FooT  LOGS 


WIDTH  OF 
SLAB  IN 
INCHES 

DIAMETER  OP  LOGS  IN  INCHES 

6 

8 

10 

12 

14 

16 

18 

20 

22 

24 

26 

BOARD  FEET 


1 

0 

1 

1 

2 

2 

3 

3 

4 

4 

5 

5 

2 

4 

5 

6 

7 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

11 

12 

3 

9 

10 

11 

13 

14 

15 

16 

18 

19 

20 

21 

4 

17 

19 

21  • 

23 

24 

26 

28 

30 

31 

33 

5 

27 

29 

32 

34 

37 

39 

42 

44 

47 

6 

39 

43 

46 

49 

52 

56 

59 

62 

7 

55 

59 

63 

67 

71 

75 

79 

8 

73 

78 

82 

87 

92 

97 

9 

93 

98 

104 

110 

115 

10 

117 

123 

129 

135 

11 

142 

149 

155 

12 

170 

178 

13 

200 

CULL   TABLE    B 
Loss  BY  CUTTING  SLABS  FROM  ONE  SIDE  OF  14-FooT  LOGS 


DIAMETER  OF  LOGS  IN  INCHES 


BjJ 

6 

8 

10 

12 

14 

16 

18  1  20 

22 

24 

26 

i 

0 

1 

1 

2 

2 

3 

4 

4 

5 

6 

6 

2 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

3 

10 

12 

13 

15 

16 

18 

19 

20 

22 

23 

25 

4 

19 

22 

24 

26 

28 

30 

32 

34 

36 

39 

5 

31 

34 

37 

40 

43 

46 

48 

51 

54 

6 

46 

50 

53 

57 

61 

65 

68 

72 

7 

64 

68 

73 

78 

82 

87 

92 

8 

85 

91 

96 

102 

107 

113 

9 

108 

114 

121 

128 

134 

10 

136 

143 

150 

157 

11 

166 

173 

181 

12 

197 

207 

13 

234 

Forest  Mensuration 


191 


CULL   TABLE   B 

Loss  BY  CUTTING  SLABS  FROM  ONE  SIDE  OF  16-FooT  LOGS 


5*. 

w  "  H 

DIAMETER  OF  LOG  IN  INCHES 

Jjl 

6 

8 

10 

12 

14 

16 

18 

20 

22 

24 

26 

1 

0 

1 

1 

2 

3 

3 

.4 

5 

5 

6 

7 

2 

5 

6 

7 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

3 

11 

13 

15 

17 

18 

20 

21 

23 

25 

26 

28 

4 

22 

25 

27 

30 

32 

35 

37 

39 

41 

44 

5 

35 

39 

42 

45 

49 

52 

55 

59 

62 

6 

52 

57 

61 

65 

69 

74 

78 

83 

7 

73 

78 

83 

89 

94 

99 

105 

8 

\ 

97 

103 

109 

116 

122 

128 

9 

123 

131 

138 

146 

153 

10 

155 

163 

171 

179 

11 

189 

198 

207 

12 

226 

237 

13 

268 

Every  farmer  who  sells  any  timber  from  his  woodlot 
should  understand  this  process  thoroughly,  for  sharp 
practice  often  imposes  on  the  ignorance  of  the  owner  and 
he  loses  much  of  his  profits  through  an  unfair  scale. 

In  some  parts  of  the  country,  notably  eastern  New 
York,  the  standard  is  used  as  the  unit  of  log  measure. 
This  standard  is  a  log  thirteen  feet  long  and  nineteen 
inches  in  diameter  at  the  small  end.  Five  standards 
are  considered  the  equivalent  of  a  thousand  board  feet. 
This  rule  is  not  very  widely  used. 

All  logs  for  export  are  sold  by  the  cubic  foot,  the  most 
accurate  unit  of  measurement.  This  measure  is  not  used 
in  the  United  States  except  in  a  few  special  cases. 

The  cubic  contents  of  a  log  is  found  accurately  enough 


192  The  Farm  Woodlot 

for  all  practical  purposes  in  the  following  manner  :  Measure 
the  diameter  of  the  log  inside  the  bark  at  each  end,  being 
careful  to  get  the  average  diameter  if  the  log  is  not  round. 
Turn  to  the  table  in  the  appendix  of  this  book  giving  the 
area  of  circles.  Add  the  two  areas  thus  obtained.  Divide 
the  sum  by  two  to  get  the  average,  and  multiply  the 
result  by  the  length  of  the  log  in  feet.  This  gives  the 
number  of  cubic  feet  in  the  log.  This  method  is  sometimes 
used  when  the  logs  are  sold  for  pulpwood. 

CORDWOOD 

One  important  unit  of  measurement  that  is  used  a  great 
deal  in  connection  with  woodlot  practice  is  the  cord.  The 
standard  cord  is  a  pile  of  4-foot  wood,  4  feet  high  and 
8  feet  long,  and  contains  128  cubic  feet  of  stacked 
wood.  A  cord  foot  is  one-eighth  of  a  cord  and  contains 
16  cubic  feet  of  stacked  wood.  It  is  used  as  a  measure 
of  firewood,  pulpwood,  stave  and  heading  bolts,  short 
handle  stock,  shingle  bolts,  tan  bark  and  nearly  all  other 
material  that  is  cut  into  short  lengths. 

The  cord,  however,  though  used  as  an  absolute  unit  of 
measurement,  does  not  always  represent  the  same  volume 
of  wood,  by  any  means.  Some  of  the  volume  is  occupied 
by  the  spaces  between  the  sticks.  The  amount  of  this 
space  will  vary  with  the  size,  length  and  form  of  the 
sticks  in  the  pile  and  the  method  of  piling.  The  straighter 
the  sticks,  the  more  closely  they  will  lie  together  in  the  pile 
and  the  higher  will  be  the  solid  wood  content.  Thus  cords 
of  pine,  fir,  spruce  and  tamarack  will  yield  much  higher 
results  than  the  more  crooked  and  irregular  hardwoods. 

Large  sticks  yield  a  higher  solid  content  than  small 


Forest  Mensuration  193 

sticks,  because  there  is  less  chance  for  spaces  between 
them.  And  for  the  same  reason  round  wood  stacks 
smaller  than  the  same  wood  split  up.  It  is  a  common 
saying  among  wood  choppers  that  wood  swells  when  it  is 
split.  It  follows  from  the  preceding  reasons  that  there 
is  less  solid  content  in  a  pile  of  long  sticks  than  in  a  pile 
of  short  ones,  for  there  is  more  chance  for  crooks  and 
bends.  It  follows  that  in  a  pile  of  sixteen-inch  kindling 
wood  four  feet  high  and  eight  feet  long,  there  is  con- 
siderably more  wood  than  in  a  third  of  a  cord  of  standard- 
length  sticks. 

The  solid  wood  content  of  a  cord  varies  so  much,  — 
from  fifty  to  one  hundred  ten  cubic  feet,  —  that  no  defi- 
nite statement  can  be  made  in  regard  to  it,  but  it  is  well 
to  have  the  preceding  points  in  mind  when  buying  cord- 
wood. 

The  term  "cord"  does  not  always  mean  a  standard 
cord.  Its  meaning  varies  in  different  localities.  The 
length  of  the  sticks  varies  from  one  foot  to  five  feet,  and 
yet  a  pile  four  feet  high  and  eight  feet  long  is  known  as 
a  cord.  Sometimes  the  distinction  between  short  cords 
and  long  cords  is  made.  They  all  sell  as  cords,  but  the 
proper  allowance  for  the  length  of  the  sticks  is  made  in 
the  price. 

Another  case  in  which  anything  like  a  general  statement 
is  only  a  guess  that  is  rarely  realized,  is  in  the  conversion 
of  cords  to  board  measure.  Yet  in  some  cases,  —  when 
large  sized  material  is  cut  into  short  lengths,  —  both  units 
of  measurement  are  used,  and  it  is  convenient  to  have  some 
factor  by  which  to  convert  one  into  terms  of  the  other. 
Since  this  ratio  varies  from  250  feet  to  the  cord  in  some 
o 


194  The  Farm  Woodlot 

localities  to  1000  feet  in  others,  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
that  each  locality  have  a  factor  of  its  own  for  no  general 
factor  will  do.  This  conversion  factor  is  obtained  by 
scaling  many  logs  before  they  are  cut  up  and  corded, 
and  taking  the  average.  The  pulp  companies  of  New 
England  in  buying  spruce  usually  consider  a  cord  equal 
to  560  board  feet.  Two  cords  to  the  thousand  is  as  nearly 
a  general  statement  as  can  be  made,  and  that,  in  many 
cases,  is  very  far  from  the  truth. 

The  nineteen-inch  standard  in  the  Adirondacks  is 
roughly  considered  equivalent  to  one-third  of  a  cord.  A 
double  cord  is  a  pile  of  eight-foot  sticks  four  feet  high  and 
eight  feet  long.  It  is  a  very  common  unit  in  handling 
pulp  wood. 

THE    HEIGHT    OF    A    TREE 

The  total  height  of  a  tree  is  of  little  importance  to  the 
farmer,  but  he  should  be  able  to  measure  the  clear  length 
and  merchantable  length  of  a  standing  tree.  There  are 
several  finely  adjusted  and  expensive  instruments  that 
give  very  accurate  results,  but  these  are  not  necessary 
for  ordinary  woodlot  work.  A  cheap,  homemade  instru- 
ment will  give  sufficiently  accurate  results. 

Take  two  strips  of  wood  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
thick  and  an  inch  wide,  —  the  top  of  a  grape  basket  will 
be  good  enough  material,  —  one  four  and  a  half  and  one 
six  inches  long.  Tack  these  together  so  as  to  form  a  right 
angle.  Connect  the  two  loose  ends  with  a  third  strip. 
Beginning  at  the  right  angle,  measure  off  a  half  inch  on 
the  short  strip.  Drive  a  small  wire  nail  into  the  edge  of 
the  strip  at  this  point  and  at  points  one  and  a  half,  two 
and  a  half,  three  and  a  half,  and  four  and  a  half  inches 


Forest  Mensuration  195 

from  the  right  angle.  Drive  a  similar  nail  at  the  opposite 
end  of  the  six-inch  strip.  Mark  the  quarter  and  half 
inch  divisions  on  the  short  strip  with  small  notches.  Now 
drive  a  nail  through  the  center  of  the  six-inch  strip  and 
nail  the  triangle  to  the  end  of  a  pole  five  feet  three  inches 
long,  the  opposite  end  of  which  has  been  sharpened. 
The  instrument  is  now  complete.  To  measure  the  clear 
length  of  a  standing  tree,  pace  off  a  distance  of  fifty  feet 
from  the  base  of  the  tree,  taking  care  to  keep  on  the  same 
level.  Stick  up  the  staff  in  the  ground  so  that  the  graduated 
arm  is  parallel  to  the  trunk  of  the  tree,  which  must  be  in 
sight  along  the  line  AB.  Since  the  staff  is  five  feet  long, 
the  line  AB  will  strike  the  tree  five  feet  from  the  ground. 
The  observer,  with  his  eyes  at  A,  looks  at  the  point  to 
which  he  wishes  to  measure  and  notes,  by  means  of  the 
nails  and  notches,  where  his  line  of  sight  crosses  the 
graduated  arm.  The  reading  on  the  graduated  arm  in 
inches  gives  the  height  of  the  observed  point  above  the 
ground  in  feet,  each  inch  representing  ten  feet.  By  using 
the  sight  at  D  instead  of  A,  the  distance  from  the  tree 
to  the  instrument  may  be  reduced  to  twenty-five  feet. 
This  is  convenient  in  the  case  of  thick  brush  preventing 
a  longer  sight,  but  is  more  liable  to  error  and  harder  on 
the  neck  of  the  observer.  Should  it  be  desirable  to  meas- 
ure something  over  fifty  feet  high,  place  the  instrument 
one  hundred  feet  from  the  tree  and  double  the  readings. 
Such  an  instrument  should  be  used  by  the  estimator  to 
measure  the  number  of  logs  in  a  tree,  till  he  trains  his 
eye  to  make  an  accurate  estimate  without  it.  Usually  an 
accurate  enough  estimate  can  be  made  by  standing  a 
ten-  or  sixteen-foot  pole  up  against  the  tree. 


196  The  Farm  Woodlot 


VALUATION    SURVEY 

An  accurate  record  of  the  amount  of  timber  on  a  given 
tract  may  be  secured  by  the  following  method.  One 
man  may  do  it  but  three  can  work  more  economically. 
A  number  of  tally  sheets  such  as  that  in  the  table  on  page 
198  should  be  prepared  and  placed  in  a  convenient  holder. 
Starting  at  one  corner  of  the  tract,  the  party  moves  parallel 
to  one  of  the  adjacent  boundaries,  two  of  the  men  measur- 
ing with  calipers  all  the  trees  on  a  strip  66  feet,  or  one  chain, 
or  4  rods,  wide,  and  the  third  man  recording  the  results 
on  the  tally  sheet.  These  measurements  should  always  be 
taken  4J  feet  from  the  ground.  The  trees  on  the  inside  of 
the  strip  are  scratched  with  a  bark  marker  or  marked  with 
chalk  to  avoid  measuring  them  twice.  The  tally  man  may 
measure  the  length  of  the  strip  by  means  of  a  chain  66  feet 
long,  attached  to  his  belt.  An  experienced  man  can  pace 
the  distance  accurately  enough.  Such  a  strip  ten  chains 
long  contains  one  acre.  For  convenience  in  figuring  out 
the  result,  the  acres  should  be  kept  on  separate  sheets. 
When  the  end  of  the  tract  is  reached,  the  party  turns  and 
runs  another  strip  contiguous  to  the  first.  In  this  way  the 
whole  tract  is  covered.  Not  only  are  all  the  trees  on  the 
tract  recorded  according  to  diameter  and  species,  but, 
by  noting  on  the  back  of  each  sheet  the  nature  of  the  coun- 
try traversed,  data  may  also  be  secured  for  a  fairly  accurate 
map  and  the  area  of  the  tract  is  measured.  If  such  an 
accurate  survey  is  not  desired,  the  strips  may  be  run  by 
compass  at  any  interval  desired.  Strips  every  ten  chains 
give  10  per  cent,  twenty  chains  5  per  cent,  and  forty 
chains  2|  per  cent  of  the  tract.  Ten  per-cent  measure- 


Forest  Mensuration  197 

ments  give  results  accurate  enough  for  most  purposes,  if 
the  tract  is  large;  on  small  tracts —  100  acres  and  less 
—  all  the  trees  should  be  measured.  If  the  owner  wishes 
to  do  the  work  alone  and  desires  only  a  rough  estimate, 
he  may  pace  the  distances  and  estimate  the  diameters  of 
the  trees  in  the  strip.  He  should,  however,  first  measure 
a  number  of  trees  to  accustom  his  eye  to  accurate 
estimating.  It  is  best  to  train  the  eye  in  this  way  every 
morning  before  starting  the  work. 

There  are  dozens  of  such  so-called  " cruising"  methods, 
and  any  one  of  them  is  fairly  accurate  for  all  practical 
purposes.  The  one  described  is,  in  the  author's  opinion, 
the  most  easily  applied  to  small  tracts  by  the  untrained 
cruiser.  The  estimator  should  at  the  same  time  note, 
as  nearly  as  possible,  the  percentage  of  loss  from  crooked 
and  defective  trees ;  also  the  average  height  of  the  various 
trees  of  different  diameters.  The  field  work  of  the  valua- 
tion survey  is  then  complete.  It  remains  to  figure  out 
the  result  from  the  collected  data. 

These  records  from  the  different  tally  sheets  are  then 
collected  on  a  single  sheet.  The  totals  thus  obtained  are 
divided  by  the  number  of  acres  surveyed  and  the  result 
is  an  average  acre  of  the  whole  tract,  giving  the  number  of 
trees  of  each  diameter  and  species. 

The  data  secured  from  the  valuation  surveys  are  worked 
up  in  the  form  of  a  table  giving  the  number  of  trees  of 
different  diameters  in  each  species  on  the  average  acre. 
This  is  called  a  stand  table.  By  means  of  it  the  number  of 
trees  of  different  diameters  and  species  on  any  number 
of  acres  on  the  tract  may  be  calculated. 


198 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


STAND  TABLE  MADE  UP  FROM  MANY  TALLY  SHEETS  OF  THE 
SAME  FORM 


LOCATION. 


DATE 


TYPE 


No. 


SPECIES 

WHITE 
OAK 

RED 
OAK 

WHITE 
ELM 

CHEST- 
NUT 

HARD 
MAPLE 

WHITE 
ASH 

HICK- 
ORY 

BLACK 
CHERRY 

D.  B.  H. 

in  inches 

1 

11 

2 

6 

16 

2 

2 

17 

5 

7 

9 

1 

3 

16 

3 

5 

4 

7 

2 

2 

3 

5 

3 

1 

6 

1 

1 

7 

2 

1 

1 

1 

8 

2 

1 

9 

1 

1 

10 

1 

1 

11 

1 

1 

12 

1 

2 

13 

1 

14 

2 

1 

15 

1 

1 

1 

16 

1 

2 

17 

1 

18 

1 

2 

| 

19 

1 

1 

1 

20 

1 

1 

21 

2 

1 

22 

1 

1 

1 

23 

1 

24 

1 

25 

1 

2 

26 

1 

1 

Forest  Mensuration 


199 


STEM    ANALYSES 

The  next  step  is  to  find  the  volume  in  board  feet  and 
cords  of  all  the  trees  represented  in  the  stand  table.  This 
is  most  e,asily  found  by  means  of  a  volume  table.  In 
most  cases,  it  would  be  possible  for  the  farmers  to  secure 
the  desired  volume  tables  from  the  Forest  Service,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.,  which  distributes  them  free  of  charge 
to  all  applicants.  These  volume  tables  —  there  should  be 
one  for  each  species  —  give  the  number  of  board  feet 
contained  in  trees  of  certain  diameters  four  and  one  half 
feet  from  the  ground,  and  of  a  certain  average  height. 


VOLUME   TABLE 
RED  OAK 


No.  OF  TREES 


HEIGHT  OF  TREE  IN  FEET 

D.  B.  H. 

GO 

65 

70 

75 

80 

85 

90 

Inches 

Merchantable  Feet  B.M. 

6 

33 

35 

37 

7 

43 

46 

50 

53 

55 

8 

57 

60 

64 

67 

72 

9 

70 

75 

79 

84 

89 

10 

88 

92 

99 

104 

109 

116 

11 

108 

115 

121 

127 

133 

139 

144 

12 

114 

140 

149 

156 

163 

169 

175 

13 

164 

173 

182 

190 

198 

206 

212 

In  the  stand  table  we  have  recorded  the  diameter  of 
the  trees  four  and  one  half  feet  from  the  ground  (D.  B.  H.) 
together  with  the  number  per  acre  and  the  species.  Thus 


200  The  Farm  Woodlot 

by  referring  all  the  trees  in  the  stand  table  to  the  proper 
volume  tables,  we  are  able  to  obtain  the  total  volume  of 
all  the  trees  on  the  average  acre.  This  is  called  a  yield 
table  and  from  it  the  farmer  is  able  to  tell  the  exact 
amount  of  lumber  that  his  tract  will  cut,  how  much  the 
yield  will  be  if  he  takes  out  only  the  trees  above  a  certain 
diameter,  and  what  will  be  left  for  future  cuts. 

CRUISING   METHODS 

There  are  almost  numberless  methods  of  estimating 
timber  by  ocular  estimate,  or  "  cruising, "  as  it  is  commonly 
called ;  but  only  two  or  three  that  are  applicable  to  the 
woodlot  will  be  taken  up  here.  The  results  of  the  esti- 
mating is  worked  out  in  board  feet,  but  the  unit  measure 
in  the  field  is  the  log.  The  number  of  logs  of  different 
species,  lengths  and  diameters  are  recorded  on  a  tally 
sheet  and  the  results  worked  out  in  the  office.  The  diame- 
ter should  always  be  estimated  at  the  small  end  and  in- 
side the  bark,  since  that  is  where  the  scale  is  applied. 
The  diameter  at  the  large  end  does  not  make  any  dif- 
ference. 

In  order  to  do  this  work  accurately,  the  eye  must  be 
trained  to  two  things,  the  estimating  of  diameters  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  the  estimating  of  heights.  The  first  may  be 
secured  by  the  use  of  tree  calipers,  which  the  beginner 
should  always  carry  with  him.  He  should  estimate  the 
diameter  of  every  tree  and  then  check  it  up  by  the  use  of 
the  calipers.  By  doing  his  estimating  at  different  distances 
from  the  tree,  he  can  learn  what  the  different  diameters 
will  look  like  at  varying  heights  on  the  tree.  The  eye 
quickly  becomes  trained  to  this  work,  and  in  a  short  time 


Forest  Mensuration  201 

the  estimator  will  find  that  he  rarely  has  to  change  his 
guess  when  the  calipers  have  been  applied.  Till  the 
estimator  has  become  very  expert,  it  is  best  to  use  the 
caliper  check  each  day  when  beginning  work,  for  the  eye 
is  apt  to  lose  its  cunning  over  night  and  needs  tuning  up. 

The  eye  can  best  be  trained  to  measure  heights  by  the 
use  of  a  ten-  or  better,  a  sixteen-foot  pole,  —  the  length  of 
an  ordinary  log.  Stand  the  pole  against  the  base  of  a 
tree.  Retreat  a  few  paces  and  note  how  high  it  comes  on 
the  tree  and  how  many  times  it  could  be  contained  in  the 
height  of  the  tree,  or  to  the  top  of  the  top  log.  Together 
with  this  practice,  estimate  the  diameters  at  the  various 
log  lengths.  In  this  way  a  very  fair  idea  of  the  number 
of  logs  a  tree  contains  can  be  reached.  When  cutting 
timber,  this  process  should  be  checked  by  first  estimating 
the  timber  carefully  and  then  measuring  the  log  lengths 
and  diameters  on  the  felled  tree. 

The  next  thing  that  must  be  learned  is  the  thickness 
of  the  bark  of  the  different  species  at  different  heights. 
It  varies  considerably  in  thickness  from  the  ground  to  the 
top  of  the  first  log,  but  above  that  it  is  fairly  uniform. 
This  can  best  be  learned  from  the  observation  and  measure- 
ment of  felled  trees.  The  testing  of  the  bark  of  standing 
trees  at  breast  height  is  not  a  good  test.  In  estimating 
the  diameter  of  logs  inside  the  bark,  do  not  forget  to  double 
the  thickness  of  the  bark  before  subtracting  it. 

When  the  eye  has  been  trained  in  this  way,  the  actual 
work  of  estimating  may  be  started.  The  method  used  will 
vary  somewhat  with  the  size  of  the  tract  and  the  purpose 
of  the  owner.  The  smaller  the  tract  the  more  accurately 
the  work  can  be  done. 


202  The  Farm  Woodlot 

In  a  small  woodlot,  all  the  logs  of  merchantable  size 
should  be  estimated  and  recorded  on  the  tally  sheet. 
This  may  easily  be  accomplished  by  one  man.  He  needs 
no  other  equipment  than  a  tally  board  and  something 
with  which  he  can  mark  the  trees  he  has  estimated  to 
prevent  taking  them  twice.  This  may  be  a  hatchet  for 
light  blazing;  a  scratcher  for  scratching  the  bark  or  a 
piece  of  chalk,  —  probably  the  last  would  be  the  easiest 
to  handle. 

Starting  at  one  corner  of  the  woodlot,  he  runs  a  strip 
along  one  of  the  boundaries,  estimating  the  number, 
length  and  diameter  of  the  logs  in  each  tree  and  recording 
them  under  the  proper  species  on  his  tally  sheet.  He  must 
remember  to  allow  for  a  reasonable  stump  and  avoid  the 
bad  crooks.  He  marks  each  tree,  as  he  estimates  it, 
where  the  mark  will  be  most  conspicuous  on  his  return 
trip.  When  the  end  of  the  woodlot  is  reached,  he  faces 
about  and  runs  another  similar  strip  next  to  the  first. 
In  this  way,  he  estimates  the  logs  in  every  tree  in  the 
woodlot  and  his  tally  sheet  contains  the  data  needed  to 
calculate  his  total  crop  of  merchantable  logs. 

Few  woodlots  are  too  large  to  permit  of  this  method, 
but  when  they  are,  one  of  the  following  methods  may  be 
used.  The  problem  is  to  estimate  a  certain  definite 
percentage  of  the  trees.  This  may  be  done  in  a  number  of 
ways.  If  the  area  of  the  tract  is  known,  the  number  of 
acres  necessary  to  make  up  the  required  percentage  can 
be  calculated  and  estimated.  The  acres  estimated  should 
be  scattered  evenly  over  the  tract,  so  that  a  good  average 
is  secured  and  not  bunched  up  in  any  one  place.  There 
are  dozens  of  mathematical  methods  for  distributing  these 


Forest  Mensuration  203 

acres  evenly,  but  it  is  just  as  well  for  each  man  to  make 
up  one  to  suit  himself. 

If  the  area  of  the  tract  is  not  definitely  known,  and  it 
is  not  desirable  to  go  to  the  trouble  of  a  survey,  a  fairly 
accurate  percentage  may  be  secured  by  the  proper  spacing 
of  the  four-rod  strips.  If  the  strips  are  four  rods  apart, 
they  will  contain  50  per  cent,  twelve  rods  apart  25  per  cent, 
sixteen  rods  apart  20  per  cent,  36  rods  apart  10  per  cent, 
76  rods  apart  5  per  cent  and  156  rods  apart  2|  per  cent. 
The  larger  the  percentage  taken,  the  more  accurate  the 
estimate  will  be,  and  less  than  25  per  cent  should  never 
be  taken  on  any  woodlot. 

When  this  data  has  been  obtained,  the  field  work  is 
completed  and  the  remainder  of  the  work  must  be  done 
in  the  office.  This  work  consists  of  converting  the  logs 
into  board  measure  by  means  of  a  log  scale.  The  most 
widely  used  log  scales  are  printed  in  the  appendix.  The 
process  is  as  follows :  first,  look  up  the  log  scale  used  in 
that  district  in  which  the  logs  are  to  be  sold.  Turning  to 
the  column  of  the  log  scale  representing  the  logs  of  the 
length  in  the  first  column  of  the  tally  sheet,  look  up  the 
first  diameter  appearing  on  the  tally  sheet  and  write  down 
opposite  to  it  the  number  of  board  feet  given  in  the  scale 
for  that  diameter.  This  represents  the  number  of  board 
feet  that  may  be  cut  from  a  log  of  this  length  and  diameter. 
Multiply  this  by  the  number  of  logs  of  this  class  and  write 
it  down  in  the  next  column  to  the  right.  This  must  be 
done  for  every  diameter  of  the  different  lengths  appearing 
on  the  tally  sheet.  The  sum  of  each  column  will  represent 
the  total  number  of  board  feet  in  the  logs  of  certain  length 
and  species.  The  sum  of  the  totals  of  all  the  columns  will 


204  The  Farm  Woodlot 

give  the  total  number  of  board  feet  contained  in  all  the 
logs  recorded  on  the  tally  sheet,  if  this  represents  only  a 
percentage  of  the  whole  area  correct  for  100  per  cent. 

One  more  thing  is  necessary.  Not  all  these  logs  will 
be  sound.  The  percentage  of  rot  will  vary  with  the 
locality  and  the  species.  This  percentage  of  waste  for 
each  species  can  most  easily  and  most  accurately  be 
secured  by  careful  inquiries  at  the  nearest  saw  mill. 
This  percentage  of  "cull,"  as  it  is  called,  must  then  be 
subtracted  from  the  total  of  each  species. 

The  farmer  is  then  in  a  position  to  sell  his  timber  and 
drive  an  equitable  bargain.  He  knows  just  how  much 
sound  timber  of  each  species  he  has  for  sale,  and  the 
proportion  of  long  lengths.  He  must,  however,  remember 
that  his  figures  are  only  an  estimate  and  be  prepared  for 
a  reasonable  difference  between  his  figures  and  those 
of  the  buyer,  which  are  also  based  on  an  estimate. 

It  may  be  well  to  describe  a  common  method  used  by 
cruisers  on  large  tracts  of  low  value.  It  is,  like  most  of 
the  cruising  methods,  based  on  the  estimation  of  sample 
areas.  The  unit  sample  area  is  usually  the  acre.  These 
samples  must  be  located  according  to  some  system,  for 
if  the  cruiser  relies  wholly  upon  his  judgment,  he  is  apt 
to  place  the  average  too  high.  For  example  :  the  cruiser 
starts  from  the  southeast  corner  of  the  forty,  the  common 
unit  in  all  large  tracts,  and  paces  west  20  rods,  then  north 
20  rods.  With  this  point  as  a  center,  he  estimates  all 
the  trees  in  a  radius  of  118  feet,  thus  covering  one  acre. 
He  then  paces  40  rods  west  and  40  north  and  repeats  the 
operation.  Twenty  rods  north  and  20  west  brings  him 
to  the  northwest  corner  of  the  forty  where  he  can  check 


Forest  Mensuration  205 

up  his  pacing.  This  estimate  of  2  acres  in  every  40  is 
5  per  cent  of  the  whole  and  the  estimates  obtained  on 
these  two  sample  acres  should  be  multiplied  by  20  to  get 
the  estimate  of  the  40.  Some  judgment  is  necessary 
to  see  that  these  samples  do  not  fall  in  timber  too  far  above 
or  below  the  average.  It  is  this  element  of  uncertainty 
that  makes  the  partial  estimates  unsatisfactory,  especially 
with  the  beginner  whose  judgment  is  not  sufficiently 
trained. 


CHAPTER  IX 
FOREST   UTILIZATION 

THE  farmer  may  get  comparatively  little  use  from  the 
timber  on  the  woodlot  and  render  the  future  crop  almost 
worthless  by  poor  judgment  and  careless  handling.  It 
is  a  common  practice  for  the  farmer  to  cut  his  timber 
without  any  thought  to  its  usefulness  or  value.  He  goes 
to  his  woodlot  for  his  winter  supply  of  firewood.  Oak, 
hickory  and  maple  make  the  best  fire ;  and  the  largest 
and  straightest  trees  make  the  most  wood  for  the  least 
work.  It  follows  naturally  that  the  best  trees  are  first  put 
in  the  cord  wood  pile.  The  result,  which  does  not  enter 
into  his  calculations  at  the  time,  is  disastrous.  Not 
only  could  these  trees  have  been  put  to  a  much  more  valu- 
able use,  but  their  removal  means  a  depletion  of  the  better 
species  and  ideal  conditions  for  the  reproduction  of  the 
poorer  species  which  are  left.  We  must  remember  that 
it  is  the  kind  of  seed  trees  which  we  leave  that  determines 
the  composition  of  the  future  stand.  If  nothing  but  weed 
trees  are  left,  they  will  be  quick  to  take  advantage  of 
the  situation,  and  the  next  crop  will  be  nearly  all  weeds. 

The  owner  should  consider  carefully  this  selection  in 
his  cuttings.  He  should  have  an  eye  to  the  market  for 
different  wood  products  in  his  locality  and  cater  to  the 
most  profitable.  Of  course  this  is  possible  only  when  the 
woodlot  is  of  considerable  size  and  more  than  sufficient 

206 


Forest  Utilization  207 

for  the  family  supply.  But  even  when  firewood  is  the  only 
product,  the  same  care  should  be  taken  in  cutting  to 
keep  the  stand  in  good  condition. 

In  the  older  hardwood  districts  in  which  there  are 
furniture  factories,  there  are  several  species  which  are 
exceedingly  valuable,  especially  the  older  trees.  These 
are  the  white  oak,  black  walnut,  black  cherry  and  yellow 
poplar.  Such  trees  should  be  valued  very  carefully  before 
they  are  sold,  and  they  should  be  sold  as  individual  trees, 
never  by  the  acre  or  thousand  feet.  The  buyer  should  be 
brought  to  the  grounds  and  asked  to  place  a  value  on  the 
tree  after  a  careful  inspection.  If  possible,  several  buyers 
should  be  made  to  bid  for  the  trees.  The  tree  should 
then  be  cut  according  to  the  buyer's  direction.  If  the 
tree  is  cut  without  this  precaution,  and  the  logs  hauled 
to  the  factory  to  be  sold,  the  special  value  of  the  tree  may 
have  been  destroyed.  In  the  black  walnut,  for  example, 
the  particularly  valuable  parts  are  the  stump  and  the 
curly  grain  near  the  branches.  Unless  special  directions 
are  obtained  for  the  cutting,  these  parts  are  likely  to  be 
lost.  Some  of  these  trees,  worth  more  than  a  hundred 
dollars,  are  ignorantly  cut  up  into  firewood.  However,  it 
must  not  be  thought  that  all  trees  of  this  species  are  so 
valuable ;  it  is  only  the  large,  old  trees,  and  even  some  of 
those  have  no  special  value  beyond  being  good  lumber. 

FOR    CONSTRUCTION    TIMBERS 

Different  requirements  are  necessary  for  timbers  to 
be  used  in  outside,  or  exposed,  and  inside  construction. 
When  the  wood  is  exposed  to  the  weather  or  more  partic- 
ularly to  contact  with  the  ground,  durability  in  these 


208  The  Farm  Woodlot 

situations  must  be  added  to  its.  other  qualifications.  For 
building  purposes  timber  should  be  fairly  strong,  especially 
for  dimension  stuff,  hold  a  nail  well,  work  fairly  well  with 
tools,  and  hold  its  shape,  when  once  seasoned.  Accord- 
ing to  these  specifications,  pine  makes  the  best  construc- 
tion timber  that  we  have,  spruce  next,  and  hemlock  and 
tamarack  are  good  substitutes  for  dimension  sizes.  Among 
the  hardwoods,  red  oak,  maple,  white  elm,  basswood, 
ash  and  cottonwood  are  good  for  inside  work,  white  oak, 
red  elm,  mulberry,  catalpa  and  black  walnut  for  outside. 
Of  course  any  timber  that  can  be  used  outside  can  also  be 
used  inside.  Trees  of  a  size  and  form  to  produce  such 
timbers  should  be  kept  for  this  purpose,  for  even  though 
they  may  not  be  needed  on  the  farm,  they  will  bring  a 
good  price  as  saw  logs  at  any  mill. 

FENCE    POSTS    AND    RAILS 

The  matter  of  the  selection  of  fence  posts  is  dealt  with 
under  the  chapter  on  Wood  Preservation  and  it  is  necessary 
to  add  here  only  a  few  details  on  the  sizes  and  methods  of 
manufacture. 

The  standard  length  for  a  post  in  most  sections  is  seven 
feet.  They  may  be  a  few  inches  longer,  but  never  shorter. 
If  they  are  cut  in  the  autumn  or  winter,  they  dry  more 
slowly  and  check  less  than  when  cut  in  the  spring  or 
summer;  consequently  they  are  stronger.  They  should 
be  peeled  as  soon  as  cut  and  carefully  piled  so  that  they 
are  not  in  contact  with  the  ground  and  are  exposed  to  a 
free  circulation  of  air.  If  the  post  is  to  be  driven  in,  the 
top  should  be  cut  off  square ;  otherwise  it  should  be  cut 
at  an  angle.  In  either  case,  the  cut  should  be  smooth, 


Forest  Utilization  209 

preferably  made  with  an  ax,  in  order  that  the  water  may 
run  off  readily  and  not  soak  into  the  top  of  the  post.  If 
the  top  of  the  post  is  painted  when  green,  the  checking 
of  the  end  will  be  largely  prevented. 

Posts  can  often  be  split  to  advantage.  If  a  considerable 
portion  is  heartwood,  a  six-inch  post  can  be  halved,  a 
seven  and  a  half  inch  post  quartered.  These  are  light 
posts  and  can  be  used  only  as  fillers  in  a  fence  between 
stronger  ones.  Chestnut  and  ash  can  readily  be  split 
with  an  ax,  other  species  are  better  sawn.  If  the  posts 
are  to  be  sold,  they  will  find  a  more  ready  market  if 
bright  in  color  and  trimmed  to  a  uniform  length.  Posts 
for  sale  should  always  be  sorted  into  size  classes,  —  three, 
four,  five,  six  inch,  and  so  on,  and  the  round  and  split 
posts  separated. 

The  wire  fence  has  almost  entirely  displaced  the  old 
post  and  rail,  but  there  are  still  a  few  districts  in  which 
they  are  used,  —  mostly  in  the  chestnut  country.  Chest- 
nut is  by  far  the  best  wood  for  this  purpose,  because  it  is 
so  readily  split  and  is  so  durable.  White  oak  is  also  used, 
and  occasionally  locust. 

RAILROAD    TIES 

Railroad  ties  are  best  made  of  the  same  kind  of  wood  as 
fence  posts,  durability  and  the  holding  power  of  the 
spikes  being  the  principal  requirements.  Cedar  is  about 
the  only  fence  post  wood  which  should  not  be  used  for  this 
purpose  ;  it  is  too  soft  and  has  not  the  necessary  strength. 
Nevertheless  many  are  sold,  especially  to  branch  roads. 

Before  cutting  any  railroad  ties,  the  specifications  of 
the  buyer  should  be  carefully  studied.  They  may  be 


210  The  Farm  Woodlot 

secured  from  any  agent.  Most  companies  classify  their 
ties  into  " firsts"  and  " seconds."  If  the  specifications  are 
not  secured  and  carefully  considered,  many  seconds  will 
be  cut  that  could  just  as  well  have  been  made  firsts.  In 
hewing  ties  in  a  woodlot,  it  is  better  to  do  ajl  the  hewing  in 
one  place  so  that  the  chips  may  easily  be  piled  and  burned. 
Most  roads  also  classify  ties  into  hewed  and  sawed  and 
make  a  difference  in  the  price. 

IMPLEMENT    PARTS 

For  farm  implement  repairs  wood  is  needed  that  is 
strong,  hard,  tough  and  elastic.  The  best  woods  for  this 
purpose  are  hickory,  iron  wood,  oak  and  elm  in  the  order 
in  which  they  are  mentioned.  Pieces  for  this  purpose 
shquld  be  cut,  peeled  and  stored  under  cover  where 
there  will  be  a  free  circulation  of  air  so  that  they  may 
become  thoroughly  seasoned.  Large  pieces  should  be 
split  into  quarters ;  this  prevents  season  (Fig.  49)  checks 
and  hurries  the  process.  This  adds  very  greatly  to  their 
strength.  Care  should  be  taken  in  selecting  the  pieces 
to  see  that  the  grain  is  straight  and  free  from  knots. 
Proper  seasoning  requires  from  three  months  to  a  year, 
according  to  the  thickness  of  the  piece.  Every  farmer 
should  keep  a  supply  of  such  pieces  on  hand  so  that  he 
will  have  seasoned  wood  when  he  needs  it,  and  not  be 
obliged  to  use  green  pieces  of  inferior  quality.  The  second 
growth  of  these  species,  of  small  size,  especially  sprout 
growth,  is  superior  to  the  older  timber  for  these  purposes. 
It  is  tougher,  less  brittle  and  more  elastic,  will  bend 
more  to  a  strain  without  breaking  and  stand  harder  jars. 

Stock  for  handles  should  have  the  same  qualities  as 


Forest   Utilization 


211 


the  wood  used  for  agricultural  implements.  When  this 
stock  is  cut  for  sale,  it  is  important  to  know  the  specifi- 
cations of  the  factory,  that  the  proper  lengths  and  sizes 
may  be  obtained.  It  is  very  easy  to  spoil  a  large  quantity 


FIG.  49.  —  Season  checks  in  hardwood  logs. 

of  such  stock  by  cutting  it  even  a  fraction  of  an  inch  too 
short.  This  makes  a  good  market  for  the  products  of  a 
plantation  because  such  small  sizes  can  be  utilized. 

FIREWOOD 

.Some  species  make  better  firewood  than  others.  Gen- 
erally speaking,  the  heavier  a  wood  is,  the  more  heat 
it  will  produce  to  the  cubic  foot  burned.  Some  woods 


212  The  Farm  Woodlot 

burn  more  readily  than  others.  As  a  rule,  the  coniferous 
woods  ignite  more  easily  and  burn  more  readily  than  the 
hardwoods,  but  the  hardwoods  produce  hot  coals  that 
are  ideal  for  cooking.  This  divides  the  woods  into  the 
natural  classes  of  coniferous  kindlings  and  hardwoods 
for  a  steady  fire. 

Unfortunately  the  woods  which  make  the  most  valuable 
timbers  also  make  the  best  firewood,  and  many  a  valuable 
saw  log  is  cut  up  into  cord  wood.  The  straight  trunks  of 
these  species  should  be  set  aside  for  saw  logs.  At  least 
a  third  of  the  tree  would  still  be  left  for  firewood  and  those 
parts,  too  crooked  or  too  small  for  lumber,  make  excellent 
cord  wood,  especially  for  home  use,  when  more  or  less  odd 
lengths  make  very  little  difference. 

The  process  of  selecting  trees  for  firewood  should 
roughly  follow  this  general  outline  : 

Decide  how  much  cordwood  is  to  be  cut. 

Select  first  the  old  trees  that  show  signs  of  rot  or  have 
suffered  some  injury.  Take  first  from  these  trees  saw 
logs,  ties,  fence  posts  or  any  other  valuable  pieces  for  which 
there  is  a  market.  Cut  the  rest  into  cordwood.  Of  course, 
if  there  is  no  market  for  any  of  these  products,  it  is  sense- 
less to  save  them  and  the  whole  tree  should  be  put  into 
cordwood. 

Select  next  the  weed  trees  of  the  forest,  the  trees  that 
have  no  special  value.  They  may  not  make  particularly 
good  firewood,  but  they  will  burn  well  enough  when 
mixed  with  some  better  wood.  They  should  be  removed, 
to  keep  them  from  seeding  up  the  ground  and  to  give  the 
better  species  a  chance  to  reproduce  themselves. 

If  any  more  trees  are  needed,  they  should  be  taken  from 


Forest  Utilization  213 

the  most  crowded  stands.     The  directions  for  this  are 
given  under  " thinnings." 

Do  not  cut  too  much.     There  are  other  winters  coming. 

LOGGING 

Winter  is  the  best  time  to  log,  especially  for  the  farmer 
who  is  busy  with  his  crops  during  the  other  parts  of  the 
year.  The  snow  and  ice  in  the  North,  which  make  sleigh 
hauling  possible  anywhere  in  the  woods,  and  the  freedom 
from  insects  in  all  regions,  make  the  winter  months 
preferable.  The  woodlots  vary  so  greatly  in  size  and  in 
the  character  of  the  timber  that  no  definite  scheme  of  log- 
ging can  be  laid  down.  Only  a  few  hints  of  general  ap- 
plication can  be  given. 

Felling 

A  tree  can  be  felled  in  almost  any  direction  except 
directly  opposite  to  the  way  it  is  leaning,  and  even  this 
can  often  be  accomplished  by  means  of  wedges  if  the  tree 
does  not  lean  too  much.  First  the  direction. of  felling 
should  be  chosen,  so  that  there  is  no  danger  of  its  lodging, 
being  propped  up  by  another  tree,  —  or  damaging  any 
thrifty  young  growth.  Care  should  also  be  taken  that 
the  trunk  does  not  fall  across  a  rock  or  large  log.  This 
will  often  break  or  shatter  the  trunk.  It  is,  however, 
well  when  possible  to  have  the  middle  of  the  trunk  sup- 
ported in  some  way  so  that  the  saw  may  not  bind  in  cutting 
the  trunk  into  logs.  On  a  steep  hillside,  the  trees  should 
be  thrown  across  the  hill,  not  down  it.  The  trunk  is 
then  more  easily  "broken  up,"  and  is  less  likely  to  be 
broken. 


214  The  Farm  Woodlot 

When  the  direction  has  been  decided  upon,  cut  with  an 
ax  a  notch  on  that  side  of  the  tree.  In  conifers  it  need 
not  exceed  more  than  two  or  three  inches  in  depth ;  in 
hardwoods,  it  should  extend  to  the  center  of  the  tree, 
and  "cut  the  pig  tail."  This  prevents  the  tree  from  split- 
ting up  the  trunk  and  "kicking  back,"  an  accident  quite 
common  in  hardwoods.  It  is  always  dangerous  to  stand 
directly  back  of  the  saw  in  cutting  hardwoods.  Conifers 
occasionally  do  the  same  thing.  This  notch  should  be 
as  nearly  as  possible  horizontal  and  clean  cut.  It  should 
be  made  as  close  as  practicable  to  the  root  collar,  for  the 
wood  in  the  stump  is  the  best  part  of  the  tree.  It  also 
aids  in  reproduction  when  sprout  growth  is  depended 
upon. 

The  outer  bark  should  then  be  chipped  off  around  the 
trunk  a  few  inches  above  the  notch  because  this  bark 
greatly  retards  the  saw.  The  saw  should  be  started  two 
or  three  inches  above  and  opposite  the  notch.  Care  must 
be  taken  to  keep  the  cut  straight,  or  the  saw  will  bind. 
Do  not  press  too  hard  on  the  saw,  and  do  not  jerk  it. 
The  motion  should  be  regular,  smooth  and  with  just 
enough  pressure  to  keep  the  saw  constantly  in  contact 
with  the  wood.  If  it  is  desired  to  have  the  tree  fall  exactly 
in  the  direction  of  the  notch,  the  cut  should  be  kept  parallel 
to  it ;  if  it  is  to  be  swerved  to  the  right,  the  left  corner 
should  be  cut  through  first,  and  vice  versa.  If  the  saw 
binds  in  a  large  tree,  wedges,  either  iron  or  hardwood, 
can  be  driven  in  the  kerf  back  of  it,  care  being  taken 
that  the  wedge  does  not  touch  the  saw.  In  a  small 
tree,  the  pressure  can  usually  be  relieved  by  pushing  with 
the  hand  against  the  trunk  above  the  saw.  Never  try  to 


Forest  Utilization  215 

wrench  a  saw  loose.  When  the  tree  starts  to  fall,  remove 
the  saw,  and  step  back  from  the  tree.  Keep  an  eye 
aloft  for  falling  limbs  either  from  the  falling  tree  or  its 
neighbors.  If  the  tree  shows  a  tendency  to  lean  back 
on  the  wedges,  stop  the  saw  when  within  a  couple  of 
inches  of  the  notch,  take  off  one  handle,  remove  the  saw 
and  force  the  tree  over  with  the  wedges.  Keep  a  sharp 
look-out  in  this  case,  for  there  is  always  danger  that  the 
wood  may  give  way  and  the  tree  fall  backwards.  When  a 
tree  starts  to  fall,  stand  comparatively  near  the  trunk, 
it  is  the  safest  place,  then  move  back  to  avoid  any  jump- 
ing of  the  butt. 

Dividing  the  log 

The  tree  once  felled,  it  is  necessary  to  mark  off  the  log 
lengths.  The  purpose  for  which  the  logs  are  to  be  used 
must  be  kept  carefully  in  mind.  As  a  general  rule,  long 
lengths  are  more  valuable  than  short  ones.  However, 
two  straight  short  logs  are  more  valuable  than  one  long 
crooked  one.  Unless  for  some  special  purpose,  logs 
are  usually  cut  either  8, 10,  12,  14,  16  or  18  feet  long,  except 
in  the  Adirondacks  where  odd  lengths  are  the  rule.  Short 
lengths  are  cut  more  in  the  hardwoods ;  conifers  are  seldom 
cut  less  than  12  feet. 

First  measure  the  total  length  of  the  stem  that  can  be 
used  for  logs  and  so  divide  it  that  the  whole  stem  is 
utilized.  In  doing  this  it  must  be  remembered  that  a  log 
must  be  cut  at  least  three  inches  longer  than  the  required 
length.  Cut  the  butt  log  18  feet  if  it  is  straight ;  if  not, 
it  is  better  to  make  it  shorter.  A  considerable  crook 
can  be  avoided  by  cutting  right  at  the  middle  of  the  bend. 


216  The  Farm  Woodlot 

Too  large  a  bend  must  be  " butted"  out.  When  the  logs 
are  marked,  clean  away  the  bark  at  that  point  and  saw 
off  the  logs.  In  sawing  a  horizontal  stick  the  weight  of 
the  saw  is  sufficient ;  do  not  bear  down  on  it.  If  the  saw 
binds,  wedge  as  before.  It  is  also  necessary  sometimes  to 
prop  up  the  under  side  of  the  trunk.  The  limbs  can  be 
trimmed  off  either  before  or  after  the  logs  are  cut.  This 
will  depend  on  how  the  logs  open  up.  They  should  be 
cut  smoothly,  close  to  the  trunk,  not  left  to  catch  in  the 
ground  when  the  log  is  snaked  out. 

Skidding 

This  is  dragging  the  logs  to  the  place  where  they  are  to 
be  loaded.  The  method  of  skidding  must  be  adapted  to 
the  conditions,  and  there  are  about  as  many  methods 
as  there  are  different  conditions.  Here  the  methods  can 
be  only  briefly  sketched. 

Two  general  divisions  may  be  made :  (1)  when  small 
skidways  are  made  in  the  woods  in  any  convenient  place ; 
(2)  when  larger  skidways  are  made  on  the  road. 

The  first  method  is  used  when  the  logging  is  done  in 
the  summer  time  on  hard  open  ground  so  that  a  wagon 
can  be  taken  anywhere  in  the  woods,  or  when  there  is 
not  enough  snow  in  the  winter  to  prevent  the  sleighs 
from  leaving  the  road.  One  or  two,  rarely  three  or  four, 
loads  are  put  in  each  skid  way.  This  means  that  the 
logs  need  be  skidded  only  a  short  distance.  Under  these 
circumstances,  the  logs  are  usually  " snaked"  to  the  skid- 
way.  In  snaking,  a  pair  of  skidding  tongs  are  attached 
to  a  whiffle-tree,  one  horse  for  small  logs,  two  for  large, 
and  the  logs  are  dragged  along  the  ground.  A  collar 


Forest  Utilization  217 

chain  is  sometimes  used  in  place  of  the  tongs,  and  a  farmer 
would  be  more  likely  to  have  the  chain.  It  is  looped 
around  the  large  end  of  the  log,  and  the  loose  ends  put 
over  the  hook  on  the  whiffle-tree.  It  is  not  quite  so 
quickly  or  easily  handled  as  the  tongs.  In  placing  these 
small  skidways,  they  should  be  located  where  a  load  of 
logs  can  be  most  easily  collected  and  at  the  same  time 
be  accessible  for  the  wagon  or  sleigh.  It  is  cheaper  and 
more  easily  handled  than  the  large  skidway  when  the 
ground  is  in  the  proper  condition,  but  it  never  pays  to 
go  off  the  road  for  a  load  and  get  stuck.  This  is  frequently 
done  when  the  nature  of  the  ground  has  not  been  suffi- 
ciently considered. 

When  there  is  deep  snow,  or  the  ground  is  soft,  sleighs 
or  wagons  should  not  leave  the  road,  and  it  becomes 
necessary  to  skid  the  logs  to  the  road-side.  This  means  a 
longer  distance  to  skid  than  when  small  skidways  are 
scattered  through  the  woods,  and  the  process  of  snaking 
logs,  one  by  one,  is  too  slow.  A  single  sled  or  " go-devil" 
is  used.  The  large  ends  of  several  logs  are  rolled  onto  the 
sled  by  means  of  cant  hooks,  and  chained  fast.  The 
other  ends  drag.  This  method  pays  up  to  a  quarter  of  a 
mile.  If  there  is  very  much  timber  to  come  out,  it  pays 
to  extend  the  logging  road  when  the  distance  becomes 
greater  than  that.  Sometimes,  usually  in  summer  logging, 
a  heavy,  forked  branch,  or  " lizard,"  is  substituted  for  the 
sled  and  used  in  the  same  way. 

These  skidways  should  be  located  on  the  main  road 
and,  if  possible,  so  located  that  the  bank  at  that  point  is  on 
a  level  with,  or  slightly  above,  the  sleigh  or  wagon  bunks. 
This  facilitates  loading.  All  brush  should  be  removed.  A 


218  The  Farm  Woodlot 

couple  of  long  poles,  possibly  three,  should  then  be  laid 
at  right  angles  to  the  road,  and  near  enough  together 
to  catch  the  ends  of  the  shortest  logs.  If  there  are  a 
great  many  logs,  the  hauling  will  be  made  much  easier 
by  putting  the  long  and  short  logs  in  separate  skidways. 
As  the  logs  are  rolled  from  the  sleds,  they  are  rolled  out 
onto  these  poles.  When  the  first  tier  is  completed,  slender 
poles  are  laid  on  top  of  them,  so  that  the  logs  of  the  second 
tier  can  easily  be  rolled  over  on  top  of  them.  These  poles 
are  pulled  back  after  each  log  is  rolled  out  to  keep  them 
from  becoming  tied  down.  When  the  skid  way  becomes 
so  high  that  it  is  difficult  to  get  logs  on  it  and  would  be 
difficult  to  load  from  the  top  of,  it  is  better  to  make 
another  skid  way.  Never  waste  your  time  by  building  up 
a  skidway  that  it  will  be  difficult  to  tear  down. 

Hauling 

If  there  are  only  a  few  logs  and  the  distance  ,is  not  over 
half  a  mile,  it  will  probably  pay  to  haul  them  on  the  skid- 
ding sled,  or  on  two  skidding  sleds  chained  together.  It 
would  not  pay  with  a  lizard.  If  there  are  many  logs,  it 
pays  to  load  them  on  a  regular  log  sleigh  or  wagon.  The 
condition  of  the  road  will  govern  the  size  of  the  load. 

If  the  skidway  is  above  the  bunks,  the  logs  can  be  rolled 
down  without  any  apparatus;  if  not,  the  cross  haul  is 
used.  Skids,  made  of  stout  poles  about  six  feet  long, 
and  fitted  with  an  iron  hook  in  the  end,  and  the  other 
end  beveled,  are  hooked  into  the  iron  bands  on  the  ends  of 
the  bunks  so  as  to  form  a  rollway  for  the  logs.  One  end 
of  the  loading  chain  is  hooked  to  the  reach,  the  other  end 
passed  under  the  log  and  back  across  the  sleigh  or  wagon. 


Forest  Utilization  219 

The  team,  the  leaders  usually  being  used  for  this  work, 
is  backed  up  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  wagon.  The  free 
end  of  the  chain  is  hooked  to  the  whiffle-tree,  preferably 
with  a  grab  hook  that  can  be  released  by  a  lever.  This 
avoids  the  danger  of  upsetting  the  load  if  the  horses 
cannot  be  stopped.  When  the  team  is  driven  out  at  right 
angles  to  the  road,  the  log  is  rolled  up  the  skids  onto  the 
bunks.  Two  horses  in  this  way  can  handle  almost  any 
logs  that  are  cut  in  the  Northeast.  One  horse  can  handle 
small  logs.  When  the  log  is  in  place,  the  chain  is  unhooked 
and  put  around  another  log  while  the  team  is  being  brought 
back  into  position.  A  little  faster  work  is  possible  if  the 
chain  unhooks  in  the  middle  instead  of  at  the  whiffle-tree. 
The  horses  soon  learn  the  system  and  one  man  alone  can 
put  on  a  load  with  a  well-trained  team.  When  the  load 
is  in  place,  it  is  bound  fast  with  the  loading  chain.  Some- 
times a  binder  pole  is  used. 

From  four  to  eight  thousand  feet  make  a  good  load  on  an 
iced  road  on  which  there  are  no  heavy  grades.  On  a 
heavy  down  grade,  straw  put  in  the  ruts  will  act  as  a 
brake.  In  wagon  hauling,  or  on  snow  roads,  from  one 
thousand  to  fifteen  hundred  feet  is  about  the  limit. 

When  the  logs  have  been  removed,  the  other  marketable 
products  should  be  taken  from  the  remaining  portion  of 
the  tree  :  ties,  posts  or  firewood. 

THE    CHIEF   USES   OF   OUR   COMMON   WOODS 

Yellow  poplar.  —  Panels ;  flooring ;  molding ;  clap- 
boarding;  sheathing;  shingles;  siding  on  railroad  cars; 
interior  finish  of  Pullman  cars;  coffins;  bodies  of  auto- 
mobiles ;  carriages  and  sleighs ;  sides  of  farm  wagon  beds ; 


220  The  Farm  Woodlot 

woodenware;  bungs;  slack  barrels  and  tobacco  hogs- 
heads; backing,  tops  and  sides  for  pianos;  veneers; 
boxes,  especially  biscuit  boxes  and  cigar  boxes;  scroll 
saw  work;  wood  carving;  wood  burning;  matches; 
excelsior ;  paper  pulp ;  porch  columns ;  hat  forms ;  cores 
for  veneer  furniture  and  for  interior  finish. 

Basswood.  — •  Mirror  and  picture  backs ;  drawers  and 
backs  of  furniture ;  molding ;  woodenware ;  panels  and 
bodies  of  carriages  ;  ceiling ;  wooden  boxes ;  inner  soles  of 
shoes;  cooperage  heading;  slack  barrel  staves;  butter 
churns ;  fine  carving ;  papier-mache" ;  paper  pulp.  The 
flowers  are  used  for  tea ;  the  inner  bark  of  some  species 
for  coarse  cordage  and  matting  and  glue  brushes. 

Buckeye.  —  Artificial  limbs ;  woodenware ;  paper  pulp ; 
wooden  hats ;  fine  wood  carving ;  pyrography. 

Maple.  — •  Furniture ;  flooring ;  sugar  barrels ;  mantels  ; 
runners  of  sleighs ;  peavy  handles ;  ox  yokes ;  ax  handles ; 
sides,  backs  and  bridges  of  violins  ;•  bicycle  rims ;  wooden- 
ware  ;  wooden  shovels ;  shoe  pegs  and  lasts ;  gun  stocks ; 
saddle  trees ;  teeth  of  wooden  gear  wheels ;  piano  keys 
and  hammers;  wood  split  pulleys;  framework  of  ma- 
chinery; ship  building;  paddles;  maple  sugar;  sur- 
veyors' implements;  plane  stocks;  wooden  types;  fau- 
cets; clothespins;  charcoal;  acetate  of  lime;  wood 
alcohol. 

Sumach.  —  Tanning ;  dyeing  and  dressing  skins ;  Jap- 
anese lacquer  work. 

Black  locust.  —  Police  clubs ;  fence  posts ;  insulator 
pins ;  construction  work  (bridges) ;  turnery ;  wheel- 
wright work ;  tree  nails  (pins) ;  ship  building  (ribs) ; 
hubs  of  wheels  (automobiles) ;  house  foundation. 


Forest  Utilization  221 

Black  cherry.  —  Fine  furniture  ;  cabinet  work ;  interior 
finish  ;  tool  handles ;  surveyors'  instruments. 

Dogwood.  —  Tool  handles  ;  spools,  bobbins ;  shuttles ; 
mauls ;  wheel  hubs ;  machinery  bearings ;  engraving 
blocks. 

Black  gum.  —  Heavy  hubs ;  rollers  in  glass  factories ; 
mangles;  ox  yokes;  stock  of  sledge  hammers  in  steam 
forges ;  veneers  for  berry  baskets  and  butter  dishes ; 
slack  barrels  ;  in  cheap  furniture  for  backing  and  drawers ; 
barn  flooring ;  excelsior. 

White  ash.  — •  Wagons  and  carriages  (poles,  shafts, 
frames) ;  interior  woodwork ;  inner  parts  of  furniture ; 
mantelpieces ;  sporting  goods  (bats,  etc.),  oars  and  gym- 
nastic .  bars ;  lances ;  agricultural  implements ;  tennis 
racquets ;  snowshoes ;  skis ;  wooden  pulleys ;  barrel 
hoops ;  pork  barrel  staves ;  baskets ;  dairy  packings 
(firkins,  tubs,  etc.) ;  tool  handles. 

Sassafras.  —  Light  skiffs ;  fence  posts  ;  rails ;  cooper- 
age; insect  proof  boxes;  ox  yokes.  Roots  yield  oil  of 
sassafras. 

Elms.  —  Wheel  stock,  especially  hubs ;  buckboard  beds ; 
neck  yokes ;  fence  posts ;  ribs  of  small  boats ;  top  spans 
in  covered  railroad  cars ;  railroad  ties ;  tongues  for  sleigh 
runners ;  saddle  trees ;  flooring ;  exported  for  inner 
lining  of  boats ;  butcher  blocks  and  churns  (butter) ; 
cheese  boxes ;  furniture ;  sugar  and  flour  barrel  staves ; 
patent  coiled  hoops  for  slack  cooperage;  agricultural 
implements  ;  bicycle  rims ;  basket  making ;  gun  stocks ; 
frame  timber,  of  piano  cases;  wheelbarrows;  hockey 
sticks ;  construction  of  battle  ships. 

Sycamore.  —  Furniture   (lining  of  drawers) ;    plug  to- 


222  The  Farm  Woodlot 

bacco  boxes ;  butchers'  blocks ;  interior  finish ;  beehives 
(hollow  log  sections) ;  butter  and  lard  trays ;  wooden 
bowls. 

Walnut.  —  Interior  finish ;  furniture ;  gun  stocks ;  tool 
handles ;  cabinet  work ;  boat  building. 

Hickory.  —  Axe  handles ;  wagon  stock  (especially 
whiffle-trees ;  neck  yokes ;  spokes,  tongues,  felloes,  axles) ; 
buckboards ;  rustic  furniture  ;  barrel  hoops  ;  screws ; 
mallets ;  parts  of  textile  machinery ;  farm  implements ; 
wooden  rails  (top) ;  baskets ;  bows  of  ox  yokes ;  boat 
building;  hickory  bark  for  flavoring  sugar  (to  imitate 
maple  sirup). 

Oaks  (white  and  burr) .  —  Furniture ;  wagon  and  car- 
riage stock;  especially  spokes,  felloes,  hubs,  tongues, 
bolsters ;  sandboards ;  reaches ;  brake  bars ;  axletrees  ; 
whiffle-trees ;  railroad  ties ;  freight  cars  (framework) ;  ship 
building ;  house  building  and  interior  finish ;  shingles  ; 
agricultural  implements ;  bridge  building ;  mining  timber ; 
wine,  beer,  and  whisky  barrels ;  parquet  flooring ;  stair- 
cases ;  splint  wood  baskets ;  hogshead  and  barrel  hoops ; 
bark  used  for  dyeing. 

Chestnut  oak.  —  Bark  used  for  tanning ;  fencing ; 
bridges;  railroad  ties;  substitute  for  white  oak,  but 
objectionable  in  tight  cooperage. 

Red  oak.  —  Shingles ;  furniture  ;  interior  finish ;  tight 
and  slack  cooperage  ;  railroad  ties. 

Chestnut.  —  Tanning  extract ;   coffins ;   furniture  (cores 
of  veneer  furniture  and  doors) ;  interior  finish  ;   shingles ; 
fencing  railroad  ties;    sheathing;    Jacob  staff  for  com-       • 
passes ;     bridge    building    (trestles) ;     telephone    poles ; 
backing  of  piano  veneers ;  slack  barrel  hoops  ;  staves. 


Forest  Utilization  223 

Beech.  —  Wood  alcohol ;  wood  ashes ;  charcoal ;  shoe 
lasts ;  plane  blocks ;  clothespins ;  handles ;  wooden 
bowls ;  horse  collars  (hames) ;  parquet  strips ;  flooring ; 
street  paving ;  railroad  ties ;  sugar  barrels ;  furniture 
made  from  veneers,  or  bent  after  steaming ;  chairs. 

Hop  hornbeam.  —  Posts ;  levers ;  tool  handles ;  wagon 
brakes  ;  shoes ;  wedges. 

White  birch.  —  Toothpicks ;  shoe  pegs  and  lasts ;  wood 
pulp;  spools;  clothespins;  screws;  flooring;  veneers; 
furniture  ;  bobbins  and  spindles ;  wooden  skewers ;  home- 
made barrel  hoops. 

Yellow  birch.  —  Furniture  (usually  mahogany  finish) ; 
match  boxes;  wheel  hubs;  tool  handles;  buttons; 
brush  backs;  shoe  pegs ;  clothespins ;  sugar  barrels ;  dry 
distillation  for  wood  vinegar,  wood  alcohol,  charcoal. 

Black  birch.  —  Imitation  cherry  and  mahogany  furni- 
ture; ship  building;  bark  distilled  for  oil  of  winter- 
green. 

Cottonwood.  —  Boxes ;  wood  pulp  and  fiber ;  slack 
barrels ;  woodenware ;  flooring ;  excelsior ;  cores  for 
veneers  in  organs  and  pianos ;  matches ;  building  lumber ; 
furniture;  wagon  beds;  turnery;  fence  boards. 

White  cedar.  —  Posts  ;  fencing ;  telegraph  poles  ;  rail- 
road ties;  tanks  and  buckets;  shingles;  street  paving; 
boats. 

Red  cedar.  —  Tanks ;  posts  ;  buckets ;  telephone  poles ; 
chests ;  pencils ;  interior  finish. 

White  pine.  —  House  building  and  finishing  ;  boxes  and 
crates ;  sash,  doors,  blinds ;  shingles ;  backing  of  fine 
veneers ;  excelsior ;  matches  ;  laths  ;  woodenware ;  slack 
barrels ;  framing  of  machinery  ;  furniture  ;  patterns  for 


224  The  Farm  Woodlot 

casting  metals ;  ship  masts ;  baled  shavings  for  filtering 
gas,  bedding  for  horses,  packing  for  crockery, 

Jack  pine.  —  Ties  and  piling ;  cheap  lumber ;  boxes ; 
laths ;  wood  pulp. 

Norway  pine.  —  Lumber  generally ;  ship  building ;  con- 
struction ;  flooring ;  masts  ;  piles  of  wharves ;  covering, 
lining,  siding,  flooring  and  sills  of  railroad  cars ;  railroad 
ties. 

Spruce.  —  Chemical  fiber  and  paper  pulp  (down  to  five 
inches  in  diameter) ;  matches ;  construction ;  posts ; 
railroad  ties;  fresh-water  ship  building;  clapboards; 
flooring ;  ceiling ;  -step-ladders  ;  sounding  boards  (from 
butt  logs) ;  oars ;  paddles ;  spars ;  wharf  piles ;  telegraph 
poles ;  toys ;  wood  type  ;  butter  buckets ;  slack  cooper- 
age ;  wooden  thread  (for  mattings) ;  chewing  gum ; 
vanillin.  In  Europe  spruce  bark  is  used  for  tanning. 

Hemlock.  —  Lumber ;  dimension  stuff ;  construction 
timbers;  shingles;  railroad  ties;  fencing;  paper  pulp 
and  fiber ;  bark  for  tanning. 

Tamarack.  —  Fence  posts ;  telegraph  poles ;  soda 
fiber ;  ships'  knees ;  railroad  ties. 


CHAPTER  X 
BY-PRODUCTS   OF   THE   NORTHERN  WOODLOT 

BY-PRODUCTS  of  timber-cropping  are  very  many.  They 
are  the  products  other  than  timber  and  wood.  The  tur- 
pentine and  rosin  industry  of  the  South,  the  making  of 
many  medicinal  extracts  and  the  securing  of  dyes  are 
good  examples.  In  some  cases,  as  with  the  turpentine 
industry,  the  by-product  may  be  actually  the  most  impor- 
tant product  commercially.  The  secondary  or  by-prod- 
ucts of  the  farm  woodlot  are  not  many.  The  most  im- 
portant ones  in  the  North  may  be  mentioned,  however. 

MAPLE    SIRUP   AND    SUGAR 

Practically  every  woodlot,  whether  natural  or  planted, 
contains  some  maple  trees  that  may  be  used  in  the  pro- 
duction of  maple  sirup  and  sugar  for  the  home.  The 
early  settlers  obtained  all  of  their  sugar  from  this  source, 
and  the  Indians  made  sugar  from  the  maples  long  before 
this  country  was  inhabited  by  the  white  man.  To-day 
maple  sirup  and  sugar  are  delicacies  and  command  such 
a  high  price  that  substitutes  with  an  artificial  maple  flavor 
have  come  into  use.  Comparatively  small  amounts  of 
maple  sirup  and  sugar  are  now  produced  for  the  market, 
but  it  is  not  unusual  to  find  many  rural  families  producing 
sufficient  of  this  delicacy  for  home  consumption  from  the 
maple  of  their  own  woodlot,  or  even  from  the  shade  maples 
Q  225 


226  The  Farm  Woodlot 

in  the  yard.  A  few  weeks  of  work  in  the  woodlot  in 
early  spring  during  sap  time  afford  a  pleasant  diversion 
from  the  ordinary  farm  routine  and  may  yield  consider- 
able revenue  as  well  as  add  a  choice  product  to  the  home 
table.  In  1910  the  output  of  maple  products  was  over 
4,000,000  gallons  of  sirup  and  over  14,000,000  pounds  of 
sugar.  The  total  value  of  these  products  was  over 
$5,100,000.  Vermont  and  New  York  produced  over  70 
per  cent  of  this  product.  These  two  states,  together  with 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  New  Hampshire,  Maryland,  and 
Michigan,  have  produced  over  90  per  cent  of  the  total 
production  of  maple  sugar  since  1880. 

THE   SUGAR   MAPLE 

All  of  the  native  maple  trees  produce  a  sweet  sap  that 
may  be  used  in  making  sirup  and  sugar.  The  quality 
of  sap,  or  the  degree  of  its  sweetness,  differs  with  the 
various  species.  There  are  at  least  three  species  that  may 
be  used  in  the  production  of  sirup  and  sugar.  Of  these 
the  sugar  maple  (Acer  saccharum)  is  the  best  and  is  the  tree 
that  produces  the  sweetest  sap  and  consequently  the  bulk 
of  the  maple  products  that  go  on  the  market.  This  species 
is  very  widely .  distributed  and  may  be  found  in  every 
native  woodlot,  as  well  as  among  the  trees  planted  for 
shade  and  decorative  purposes.  A  variety  of  this  maple 
known  as  the  black  maple  (Acer  saccharum  var.  nigrum), 
occurring  largely  throughout  the  range  of  the  sugar  maple, 
is  said  to  be  the  best  sap-producer.  This  maple  is  very 
hardy  and  occurs  extensively  in  the  western  range  of  the 
species.  The  red  maple  (Acer  rubrum)  is  very  widely 
distributed  and  is  an  abundant  sap-producer.  It  pro- 


By-products  of  the  Northern  Woodlot        227 

duces  more  sap  than  the  sugar  maple,  but  yields  less 
sirup  and  sugar.  The  silver  maple  (Acer  saccharinum) 
yields  an  abundance  of  sweet  sap  that  in  quality  or  sugar 
content  is  about  the  same  as  that  of  the  red  maple.  The 
red  and  silver  maples  are  considered  sugar-producing  trees 
mostly  in  those  regions  in  which  the  sugar  maple  does 
not  occur.  It  is  very  common  to  find  these  three  species 
being  used  for  making  sirup  and  sugar,  when  they  occur 
in  mixture.  It  is  not  necessary  to  have  a  large  number 
of  trees  to  make  an  operation  worth  while.  A  dozen 
good  trees  will  yield  sufficient  sap  during  a  good  season  to 
warrant  tapping  them.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  find  farmers 
tapping  three  or  four  trees,  and  even  one  tree,  when  it 
happens  to  be  a  large  tree  and  is  a  real  sugar  maple.  When 
properly  tapped  and  cared  for,  a  shade  maple  in  the  yard 
may  yield  a  large  amount  of  rich  sap  without  any  injury 
to  the  tree. 

SEASON 

The  period  of  " sugar  weather"  varies  with  the  locality 
and  season.  Usually  the  sap  begins  moving  in  the  trees 
earlier  than  is  generally  realized.  It  is  a  wise  policy 
to  get  an  early  start  so  as  to  be  prepared  for  the  season 
should  it  come  in  a  rush,  as  it  sometimes  does.  Sap  begins 
to  flow  as  soon  as  the  temperature  fluctuates  above  and 
below  the  freezing  point,  or  32°  F.  Frosty  nights  and 
warm  days  indicate  good  sugar  weather.  Generally  the 
season  begins  about  March  1  in  southern  sections  and 
later  to  the  northward.  It  may  begin  two  weeks  earlier 
and  continue  for  a  week  or  a  month,  depending  on  weather 
conditions. 


228 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


EQUIPMENT 

When  a  large  sugar  bush  is  operated,  it  is  necessary  to 
have  considerable  sirup  and  sugar  making  equipment. 
Ordinarily  the  farmer  has  sufficient  equipment  on  hand 

that  he  can  use  for 
this  purpose,  so 
that,  together  with 
what  he  can  readily 
make,  there  need 
be  little  or  no 
outlay.  A  sharp, 
clean-cutting  auger 
is  necessary.  A 
brace  with  a  half 
inch  or  three- 
fourths  inch  bit  is 
very  convenient. 
Spouts  or  spiles  can 
be  home-made  from 
any  convenient 
wood  and  will  an- 
swer the  purpose 
very  well.  When 
only  a  few  trees  are 
tapped,  the  spouts 
may  be  made  from 
the  common  elder 
by  removing  the 
pith.  The  sap  pails  can  usually  be  secured  about  the  farm 
house  for  the  short  time  necessary  and  may  consist  of  tin, 


FIG.  50.  —  Sugar-making  utensils:  1,  sugar 
mold  ;  %,  4,  sap  buckets  ;  3,  gathering  pail ; 
6,  skimmer ;  6,  cover  for  sap  bucket ; 
6  a,  cross  section  of  same  ;  7,  gathering  tank  ; 
8,  9,  10,  sap  spouts. 


By-products  of  the  Northern  Woodlot        229 


wooden,  and  earthenware.  They  should  be  provided  with 
some  kind  of  a  cover.  Metal  spouts  with  hooks  attached 
for  hanging  buckets  can  be  purchased,  but  this  is  not  nec- 
essary, since  light  home-made  spouts  can  be  used  and  the 
buckets  may  stand  on 
the  ground  or  blocked 
in  a  firm  position. 

TAPPING   THE   TREES 

If  the  sap  containers 
are  to  stand  on  the 
ground,  the  trees  must 
be  tapped  just  a  little 
higher  than  the  rim  of 
the  bucket.  If  metal 
spouts  with  hooks  at- 
tached are  used,  the  tap- 
ping may  be  done  two 
or  three  feet  from  the 
ground,  or  at  any  con- 
venient height.  As  a 
rule,  .trees  should  be 
tapped  on  the  sunny 
side.  Holes  on  the  north 
side  are  said  to  flow 

longer  than  holes  on  the  south  side.  Before  tapping,  all 
loose  bark  should  be  brushed  from  the  tree  where  the  hole 
is  to  be  bored.  The  hole  should  slant  upward  enough  to 
drain  well  and  not  over  two  inches  deep.  All  auger  chips 
must  be  removed.  For  the  sake  of  the  trees,  it  is  best 
to  tap  only  one  place  in  a  tree.  Two  or  three  spouts  are 


FIG.  51.  —  A  tapped  tree  with  pails  in 
place. 


230  The  Farm  Woodlot 

frequently  placed  in  one  tree  so  close  together  that  the  sap 
will  flow  into  one  bucket.  This  is  not  advisable,  since  it 
may  injure  the  tree.  Only  the  very  largest  trees  should 
have  more  than  one  spout.  Small  trees  should  not  be 
tapped. 

COLLECTING   SAP 

When  a  few  trees  only  are  tapped,  the  sap  may  be  collected 
in  buckets  and  carried  to  the  farm  house.  When  a  large 
number  of  trees  are  tapped,  a  tank  holding  two  or  more 
barrels  and  hauled  on  a  stoneboat  can  be  used.  One  or 
more  clean,  wooden  barrels  will  serve  the  same  purpose. 
The  sap  should  be  gathered  each  day.  The  sooner  and 
faster  the  sap  is  boiled  after  it  leaves  the  tree,  the  better 
is  the  sirup. 

BOILING   THE   SAP 

A  large  sugar  bush  will  require  a  boiling  house  with 
special  boiling  and  evaporating  apparatus.  The  average 
farmer's  woodlot  will,  as  a  rule,  have  less  than  one  hun- 
dred trees  suitable  for  tapping,  so  that  the  sap  can  easily 
be  boiled  over  a  stove  in  an  outhouse,  or  in  a  covered  kettle 
in  a  shed.  An  open  shed  with  a  roof  is  not  necessary, 
but  in  bad  weather  it  is  a  great  convenience.  The  kettle 
should  be  kept  covered  so  as  to  keep  windblown  ashes 
and  dust  out  of  the  boiling  sap.  Boiling  is  frequently 
done  in  the  woods  by  using  open  kettles  or  pans. 

MAKING   SIRUP 

In  boiling,  the  impurities  rise  to  the  surface  in  the  form 
of  a  scum  which  should  be  removed  with  a  perforated  metal 
skimmer.  As  the  sap  becomes  concentrated,  a  mineral 
substance  may  form  and  float  in  the  sirup  or  be  deposited 


By-products  of  the  Northern  Woodlot        231 


on  the  bottom  and  sides  of  the  kettle  or  pans.  This  is  a 
lime  formation,  and  if  floating,  it  maybe  removed  by  strain- 
ing through  cheesecloth,  or  by  allowing  it  to  settle  and 
later  draw  off  the  clear  sirup.  In  sirup-making,  the 
boiling  should  be  completed  at  the  proper  time.  This  is 


FIG.  52.  —  Boiling  down  the  sap  in  kettles  in  the  woods. 

determined  by  testing  in  various  ways.  If  the  sirup  is 
too  thin,  it  has  a  tendency  to  sour ;  if  too  thick,  it  will 
crystallize  and  form  sugar.  When  properly  made,  a 
gallon  should  weigh  eleven  pounds.  This  is  the  standard 
weight  of  a  gallon.  After  a  little  experience,  the  maker  can 
very  readily  judge  the  density  by  the  way  the  bubbles 
break  on  the  surface  of  the  boiling  sirup  or  by  the  way  it 
pours  from  a  spoon.  A  safer  way  is  to  test  with  a  ther- 
mometer. Sirup  that  boils  from  217°  to  219°  F.  is  at  the 
correct  density  and  will  weigh  about  eleven  pounds  a  gal- 
lon. A  safer  plan  is  to  weigh  a  gallon  of  the  cool  sirup. 


232 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


SUGARING-OFF 

In  making  sugar,  the  sirup  should  be  rebelled  until 
it  begins  to  crystallize.  Formerly  this  point  was  found 
by  pouring  a  little  sirup  on  the  snow  or  by  dipping  into 

it  a  twig  bent  into 
a  loop.  If  the  sirup 
became  waxy  on  the 
snow,  or  formed  a 
film  within  a  loop, 
it  had  boiled  enough 
and  was  ready  to 
"sugar."  Under 
more  modern  meth- 
ods, the  test  is  done 
with  a  thermometer, 
and  sugar  is  made 
at  different  temper- 
atures, according  to 
the  qualities  wanted. 
During  the  early  run 
of  sap,  238°  F.  will 
make  cake  sugar, 
but  later  in  the  sea- 

B,  ele-    gon  the  gap  WJU  re_ 

quire  242°  F.  If 
harder  sugar  is  wanted,  the  thermometer  can  be  brought  up 
to  245°  to  253°  F.  The  pan  or  kettle  is  removed  from  the 
fire,  and  the  sugar  is  slowly  stirred  to  lower  its  temperature 
and  thus  avoid  too  rapid  granulation.  It  is  then  molded 
into  cakes  of  one  to  five  pounds  or  put  in  ten  pound  pails. 


r 


FIG.  53.  —  Plan  of  model  sugarhouse  :  A,  sec- 
tional view  showing  evaporator,  storage 
tank,  and  gathering  tank  (on  sled). 
vation.  C,  ground  plan. 


By-products  of  the  Northern  Woodlot        233 

Sugar  or  sirup  should  be  stored  in  a  cool,  dry  cellar  or 
storeroom,  as  excessive  heat  tends  to  make  the  sugar 
mold  and  the  sirup  to  ferment. 

YIELD    PER    TREE 

Different  quantities  of  sap  are  yielded  by  the  same 
grove  in  different  years,  depending  on  the  condition  of  the 
weather.  However,  an  average  mature  maple  will  pro- 
duce about  twelve  gallons  of  sap  or  three  pounds  of  sugar 
per  annum.  This  is  about  the  average,  but  much  higher 
yields  have  been  reported.  For  example,  a  grove  was 
known  to  average  19  gallons  of  sap  a  tree  during  eight 
consecutive  seasons,  which  included  one  poor  year.  A 
tree  in  Vermont  produced  30J  pounds  of  sugar  in  one 
season,  its  sap  being  so  rich  that  seven  quarts  made  one 
pound  of  sugar.  Another  maple  in  the  same  state  gave 
175  gallons  of  sap  in  one  season. 

EFFECT   ON   TREE 

Three  pounds  is  looked  upon  as  a  good  yield.  This 
represents  about  9  per  cent  of  the  sugar  contents  of  a 
small  tree,  and  probably  not  more  than  4  per  cent  in  the 
case  of  a  good-sized  tree.  This  amount  under  ordinary 
circumstances  can  easily  be  spared  by  the  tree  without 
injury.  If,  however,  a  cloudy  summer  or  forest  cater- 
pillar defoliation  lessened  the  opportunity  for  starch 
storage,  or  if  the  environment,  leaf  area,  age  or  size  of  the 
tree  militated  against  it,  such  a  drain  might  become  a 
serious  one.  Tapping  does  very  little  injury  to  the  tree, 
if  properly  done.  Trees  tapped  annually  for  many  years 


234  The  Farm  Woodlot 

show  little  or  no  effect  from  this  slight  injury.     Usually 
the  holes  heal  over  in  one  or  two  seasons. 

Notes  on  maple  sugar  making 

Ice  found  in  the  buckets  on  frosty  mornings  should  be  thrown 
out,  if  it  is  floating.  If  the  whole  mass  is  frozen,  it  should  be 
collected. 

One  gallon  (eleven  pounds)  of  standard  sirup  will  produce 
from  six  and  one-half  to  eight  pounds  of  sugar. 

One  hundred  trees  in  a  favorable  season  should  yield  forty 
gallons  of  sirup  of  three  hundred  pounds  of  sugar. 

One  tree  will  yield  from  one  to  seven  pounds  of  sugar  a  season 
or  from  one  pint  to  one  gallon  of  sirup. 

Wash  the  spouts  or  spiles  with  boiling  water  and  when  dry 
store  away  for  next  season. 

Trees  in  the  open  give  more  and  richer  sap  than  those  farther 
back  in  the  bush,  crowded  and  shaded,  because  of  greater  leaf 
expansion  and  sun  exposure. 

No  more  sugar  is  yielded  by  tapping  on  the  "branchy"  side 
of  a  tree  than  that  relatively  devoid  of  branches. 

Without  exception  more  sap  and  sugar  is  obtained  from  the 
outer  1.5  inches  than  from  tissues  deeper  in  the  holes.  Four- 
fifths  of  the  sugar  yielded  from  a  tap-hole  six  inches  deep  came 
from  the  first  or  outer  three  inches  of  wood  tissue.  The  remain- 
ing fifth  would  not  compensate  for  the  extra  labor  of  boring  and 
increased  injury  to  the  tree. 

The  sap  obtained  from  the  customary  tapping  height  (four  feet) 
was  found  to  be  greater  in  quantity  and  better  in  quality  than  that 
from  the  root  (at  ground  level)  or  higher  on  the  tree  (fourteen  feet). 

The  larger  the  tap-hole  the  more  isap  and  sugar,  for  a  time  at 
least.  It  is  undesirable,  however,  so  to  wound  the  tree  that 
the  hole  will  not  soon  heal  over.  A  f-inch  to  f  sharp  bit  is 
recommended  for  tapping. 

The  spout  should  not  obstruct  the  wood  tissues  of  the  tree, 
should  securely  hold  the  pail  and  should  be  easily  inserted  and 
removed. 


By-products  of  the  Northern  Woodlot        235 

Sixty-three  per  cent  of  the  sap  drops  before  noon.  There  is 
a  slight  betterment  in  its  sugar  content  as  the  day  advances. 
The  average  sugar  content  of  maple  sap  is  about  3  per  cent. 
There  is  a  decrease  in  solids  as  well  as  in  sugar  as  the  season 
advances. 

If  three  pounds  of  sugar  be  made  to  the  tree,  from  4  per 
cent  to  9  per  cent,  according  to  the  size  of  the  tree,  is  removed. 

The  flow  of  sap  is  diminished  and  the  flavor  of  sirup  and  sugar 
altered  where  there  has  been  a  severe  attack  of  leaf-eating  in- 
sects the  year  before. 

There  is  a  difference  in  opinion  as  to  the  quality  of  the  sap 
yielded  by  the  soft  maples  (red  maple  and  silver  maple),  some 
holding  that  the  sirup  is  inferior  in  quality  and  color,  while 
others  say  it  compares  favorably  with  that  of  hard  maples.  How- 
ever, it  is  thought  that  the  soft  maples  do  not  stand  tapping  as 
well  as  the  hard  maples  and  "play  out"  earlier  in  the  season. 

WINTERGREEN    OIL   FROM   BLACK   BIRCH 

The  bark  of  the  black  or  cherry  birch  (Betula  lento} 
contains  a  pleasant  flavored  aromatic  oil  which  is  almost 
identical  with  the  oil  of  wintergreen  made  from  the  com- 
mon wintergreen  (Gaultheria  procumbeus)  and  is  widely 
used  as  a  substitute.  This  oil  is  made  by  distilling  the 
bark  and  twigs  of  the  birch  by  the  usual  distillation  pro- 
cess. Considerable  revenue  may  be  secured  from  the  bark 
and  branches  of  this  birch,  or  the  brush  after  cutting  for 
other  purposes.  This  industry  is  confined  chiefly  to  the 
northeastern  United  States  and  uses  what  otherwise  would 
be  waste  brush  fit  only  to  pile  and  burn. 

TANNING   MATERIALS 

The  leaves  and  bark  of  sumac,  the  bark  of  white  oak 
(Quercus  alba),  chestnut  oak  (Quercus  prinus)  and  hem- 


236  The  Farm  Woodlot 

lock,  together  with  the  wood  of  the  chestnut,  are  valuable 
products  of  the  eastern  forests  and  woodlots  used  for 
tanning  hides  and  skins  in  the  manufacture  of  leather. 
Sumac  is  used  for  tanning  fine  kid  leathers.  The  leaves 
generally  are  used.  They  are  collected  during  the  summer 
and  dried  ready  for  market. 

Owing  to  the  comparatively  slow  growth  of  the  oaks  and 
the  hemlock,  about  one  good  crop  is  as  much  as  a  lot  will 
yield  in  a  life  time,  but  a  well-managed  woodlot  of  con- 
siderable size  within  reach  of  markets  for  tanning  material 
may  yield  in  time  considerable  revenue  from  the  bark  of 
these  trees.  Oak  bark  is  peeled  in  the  spring  of  the  year 
immediately  after  the  trees  are  felled  (from  April  to 
June).  Hemlock  bark  may  be  peeled  any  time  during 
the  summer  until  August  or  September.  The  felled  trees 
are  girdled  every  four  feet,  and  the  bark  is  removed  with  a 
chisel-like  tool  called  a  "spud."  The  bark  comes  in 
strips  of  variable  width.  These  pieces  of  bark  are  leaned 
against  the  tree  trunk  with  the  flesh  side  out  where  there 
is  free  circulation  of  air  for  drying  and  seasoning.  In 
two  or  three  days,  if  the  weather  is  dry,  the  bark  may  be 
collected  and  ranked  into  cords.  Tan  bark  is  sold  by  the 
cord  and  brings  from  $6  to  $12,  according  to  the  kind  and 
quality. 

Chestnut  wood  for  tanning  purposes  finds  a  ready  mar- 
ket in  many  places  in  the  eastern  United  States.  Chest- 
nut wood  contains  a  higher  percentage  of  tannin  than  does 
the  bark,  differing  in  this  respect  from  oak  and  hemlock, 
the  bark  of  which  contains  more  tannin  than  the  woods. 
For  this  reason,  chestnut  wood  is  used  extensively  in  the 
manufacture  of  tannin  extract.  Practically  every  eastern 


By-products  of  the  Northern  Woodlot        237 

woodlot  contains  chestnut  and  when  within  reach  of  an 
extract  plant,  chestnut  cordwood  may  be  marketed  to 
good  advantage.  Wood  from  old  and  young  trees  may  be 
used  as  well  as  from  living  and  dead  trees.  The  wood 
from  dead  trees  must  be  sound.  The  wood  of  old  trees  has 
a  higher  tannin  percentage  than  wood  from  young  trees. 
Dead  chestnut  wood  is  said  to  yield  more  tannin  than  liv- 
ing wood.  There  is  also  a  higher  percentage  in  the  butt 
of  a  tree  than  in  the  top. 

Specifications  of  extract  wood 

Extract  wood  is  purchased  either  by  the  standard 
cord  (4  X  4  X  8'  or  128  cu.  ft.)  or  the  long  cord  (5X4X8' 
or  160  cu.  ft.).  A  cord  of  128  cubic  feet  contains  approxi- 
mately 90  cubic  feet  of  solid  wood,  leaving  38  cubic  feet  of  air 
space.  A  cord  of  160  cubic  feet  contains  approximately  128 
cubic  feet  of  solid  wood.  Split  wood  from  large  trees  is  pre- 
ferred, but  extract  plants  will  accept  chestnut  sticks  that  are 
not  less  than  four  inches  in  diameter  at  the  small  end. 
A  cord  of  128  cubic  feet  usually  sells  for  $2.50  to  $3.00  on 
board  cars  at  shipping  point,  and  $3.00  to  $3.50  a  cord  of 
160  cubic  feet.  Wood  with  the  bark  on  is  as  readily  ac- 
cepted as  wood  that  has  been  peeled.  The  wood  is  ground 
into  small  particles  by  special  machinery,  conveyed  into 
large  tanks  where  it  is  treated  with  hot  water.  The  water 
leaches  out  the  tannin,  producing  a  dark  colored  liquid. 
This  liquid  is  then  evaporated  in  special  vacuum  evapo- 
rating pans  until  sufficiently  concentrated,  after  which  it 
is  shipped  in  barrels  or  tank  cars. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE    DURABILITY    AND    PRESERVATION    OF 

WOODS 

THE  term  durability  as  applied  to  wood  usually  refers 
to  the  natural  resistance  of  the  wood  to  rot,  and  it  will  be 
so  considered  here. 

This  quality  of  durability  is  of  great  importance,  both 
to  the  farmer  who  already  has  an  established  woodlot  or  to 
the  one  who  is  about  to  do  some  planting.  The  uses  to 
which  a  larger  part  of  the  wood  used  on  the  farm  is  put 
demand  durability  in  contact  with  the  soil  and  the  weather, 
—  for  on  this  durability  depends  very  largely  the  cost  of 
maintaining  the  structure.  Fence  posts,  gate  posts,  poles, 
stakes,  sills,  and  the  like,  all  require  durability  in  contact 
with  the  soil,  while  all  the  work  on  the  exterior  of  the  home 
and  out-buildings  must  resist  the  ravages  of  the  weather. 

In  addition  to  these  uses  for  durable  wood  on  the  farm 
itself,  there  is  frequently  a  good  market  for  ties  and  poles. 
For  these  purposes  the  more  durable  woods  bring  very 
much  better  prices,  especially  white  oak  for  ties  and  white 
cedar  or  chestnut  for  poles.  This  market  is  profitable 
enough  to  demand  careful  consideration  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  woodlot. 

Therefore,  it  is  to  the  farmer's  interest  to  pay  particular 
attention  to  the  durability  of  the  species  that  he  is  growing 

238 


The  Durability  and  Preservation  of  Woods     239 


in  his  woodlot.     The  following  is  a  list  of  woods  arranged 
by  H.  von  Schrenk  in  order  of  lasting  power  :  — 


VERY  DURABLE 

DURABLE 

SHORT  LIVED 

Walnut 

Ash 

Beech 

Locust 

Larch 

Sycamore 

Sequoia 

Yellow  pine 

Birch 

Cedar 

Spruce 

Linden 

White  oak 

Fir 

Cottonwood 

Catalpa 

Yellow  poplar 

White  pine 

Sassafras 

Douglas  fir 

Chestnut 

Long  leaf  pine 

FACTORS   INFLUENCING   DURABILITY 

Durability  is  affected  by  very  many  conditions.  The 
greater  the  proportion  of  solid  wood  substance,  the  greater 
the  durability.  Hence,  the  higher  the  specific  gravity, 
the  longer  a  wood  will  last.  This,  however,  applies  only 
to  wood  of  the  same  species.  Heavy  red  oak  is  more 
durable  than  light  red  oak,  but  not  nearly  so  durable  as 
light  cedar. 

Broad-ringed  hardwoods,  that  is,  the  trees  that  have 
made  more  rapid  diameter  growth,  are  less  durable  than 
narrow-ringed,  or  slow-grown  hardwoods.  Experiments 
in  Europe  have  shown  a  great  difference.  Coniferous, 
or  soft  woods,  pines,  spruces,  and  so  on,  are  much  more 
durable  when  they  have  grown  slowly  and  formed  even, 
narrow  rings.  Thus,  we  see  that  in  growing  timber  for 
durability,  it  is  best  to  plant  hardwoods  in  good  soil,  but 


240  The  Farm  Woodlot 

they  should  be  crowded  into  a  slow  and  even  growth  by 
close  planting  and  light  thinnings.  The  timber  of  a  sound 
mature  tree  is  more  durable  than  that  of  an  immature  or 
overmature  specimen.  There  is  more  solid  wood  substance 
in  it.  If  a  tree  is  too  old,  the  center  of  the  heart  wood  is 
not  very  durable. 

Intense  coloration  of  heartwood  is  another  indication 
of  the  durability  of  timber.  As  a  rule  the  trees  with  dark 
heart  woods  are  durable.  This  is  a  rough  criterion.  In 
the  same  species  the  darker  specimen  is  always  the  more 
durable.  This  coloring  is  due  to  the  formation  of  tannin 
and  vanillin  in  the  heartwood.  Both  these  are  distasteful 
to  bacteria  and  fungi.  Colorless  heart  woods  lacking  these 
substances  have  nearly  the  same  properties  as  sapwood  and 
are  little  more  durable  than  they. 

Besides  this  lack  of  protective  materials  in  its  make-up, 
the  sapwood  is  at  great  disadvantage  in  resisting  rot. 
The  cell  walls  are  not  thoroughly  lignified  and  the  wood 
is  consequently  soft  and  of  low  specific  gravity.  There  is 
more  moisture  in  sapwood  than  in  the  heartwood,  and  the 
greater  porosity  of  the  sapwood  makes  it  easier  for  it  to 
alternately  dry  out  and  absorb  moisture.  The  drying  of 
the  sap  leaves  a  sugary  residue  in  the  cells  which  seems  very 
attractive  to  the  spores  of  the  bacteria  and  fungi.  It  is 
the  combination  of  these  causes  that  makes  the  sapwood 
of  the  cedar,  —  whose  heart  is  one  of  the  most  durable 
woods  we  have,  —  rot  in  a  year  or  two  ;  it  contains  more 
ready  food  and  served  in  more  attractive  form  for  its 
enemies. 

The  season  of  cutting  is  popularly  supposed  to  be  a  very 
important  factor  in  the  durability  of  timber,  and  there  has 


The  Durability  and  Preservation  of  Woods     241 

been  much  discussion  on  the  subject.  This  importance 
has  probably  been  greatly  exaggerated.  Since  the  pres- 
ence of  moisture  is  necessary  to  the  growth  of  fungi,  the 
time  when  the  least  moisture  is  in  the  trees  should  naturally 
be  chosen,  the  autumn  or  winter.  This  time  of  cutting 
has  the  further  advantage  of  having  the  last  season's 
layer  of  wood  fully  lignified  and .  thus  more  resistant  of 
decay.  The  chief  objection  is  the  difficulty  of  peeling 
the  bark  from  logs  cut  at  this  time.  On  the  other  hand, 
logs  cut  in  the  spring  or  early  summer  peel  readily  and 
season  quickly  in  the  ensuing  hot  weather.  The  only 
difficulty  is  that  some  woods,  especially  oak,  will  season 
too  rapidly  and  consequently  check  badly.  These  cracks 
are  very  injurious  to  the  logs  and  form  good  openings  for 
the  attack  of  the  fungi,  which  are  especially  numerous  at 
this  season. 

Fall  or  winter  is  a  good  time  for  the  cutting  of  all  species ; 
it  is  the  best  time  for  oaks  and  all  other  woods  that  check 
badly  in  seasoning.  Other  non-checking  species  may  be 
cut  in  the  spring;  they  are  easily  peeled  and  advantage 
may  be  taken  of  the  rapid  summer  seasoning. 

Naturally  durable  woods 

Some  woods  are  naturally  more  durable  than  others. 
Chestnut  or  cedar  will  last  in  the-ground  for  years,  while 
cottonwood  or  birch  will  often  rot  within  nine  months. 
For  this  reason  there  has,  in  the  past,  been  a  tremendous 
demand  for  the  so-called  durable  woods  for  fence  posts, 
railroad  ties,  telegraph  and  telephone  poles,  and  so  on. 
The  supply  of  white  oak,  white  and  red  cedar,  chestnut, 
red  elm,  black  ash,  locust,  coffee  tree,  cypress,  tamarack, 


242  The  Farm  Woodlot 

and  the  like,  has  rapidly  decreased  and,  consequently  the 
price  has  constantly  increased. 

Substitutes 

The  price  of  some  of  these  species  has  now  reached  a 
prohibitive  point  that  makes  it  necessary  to  find  some 
substitute,  cheaper  and  yet  as  effective  as  possible.  Steel, 
cement,  combinations  of  the  two,  and  several  other 
materials  have  been  tried  with  very  little  success,  as  a 
general  rule.  The  only  really  satisfactory  substitute 
seems  to  be  inferior  species  of  wood  that  have  been  treated 
with  some  preservative  to  prevent  decay. 

There  are  some  places  in  which  cement  posts  can  be 
used  with  advantage.  They  are  so  heavy  that  they 
cannot  be  shipped  very  far,  but  when  the  cement  can  be 
secured  easily  and  the  sand  is  found  close  by,  the  posts  can 
be  made  where  they  are  to  be  used  and  will  prove  very 
satisfactory.  Their  use  should  never  be  attempted  where 
there  is  any  considerable  amount  of  alkali  in  the  soil,  for 
the  alkali  will  eat  out  the  cement  and  the  post  will  very 
soon  crumble. 

Many  such  preservatives  have  been  used  in  European 
countries  for  many  years  with  admirable  success.  Beech, 
one  of  the  least  durable  of  woods,  is  treated  in  France  and 
the  ties  guaranteed  for  fifteen  years.  Salts  of  zinc  and 
copper  are  also  successfully  used.  These  experiments 
were  on  European  species  and  it  cannot  be  predicted  with 
certainty  what  the  results  would  be  on  American  species 
and  under  American  conditions.  It  is  probable,  however, 
that  the  results  will  be  much  the  same.  It  should  be  even 
more  satisfactory  in  this  country  than  in  Europe,  for  we 


The  Durability  and  Preservation  of  Woods     243 

have  some  cheaper  species  here,  —  and  all  species  are  of 
equal  durability  when  treated. 

CAUSE    OF    ROT 

What  is  generally  known  as  rot  in  wood  is  the  result  of 
a  low  form  of  vegetable  or  fungous  growth.  There  are 
thousands  of  species  of  these  plants,  but  as  they  are  all 
parasitic  and  have  practically  the  same  development,  a 
brief,  general  life  history  will  answer  for  all  of  them. 

The  spore,  or  egg,  from  which  this  plant  develops  is 
almost,  in  some  cases  wholly,  invisible  to  the  naked  eye. 
They  are  carried  about  by  the  wind  in  countless  numbers. 
The  vast  majority  of  them  fall  in  unsuitable  locations  and 
die,  but  some  of  them,  finding  openings  in  trees  and  logs, 
begin  their  own  development  to  the  destruction  of  the  host 
on  which  they  are  growing.  They  usually  take  up  their 
positions  in  a  dead  tree  or  log,  but  occasionally  make  their 
way  into  some  live  vigorous  tree  the  bark  of  which  has 
been  broken  by  a  wind  storm,  a  poor  job  of  pruning,  or 
some  other  injury. 

Once  the  spore  has  found  lodgment  in  a  favorable  local- 
ity, it  begins  a  very  rapid  development.  Mycelia,  long, 
white,  threadlike  filaments,  penetrate  the  cell  walls  and  fill 
up  the  interior  of  the  cells.  In  this  way  the  life  of  the  cell 
is  destroyed,  and  the  substance  of  the  wood  becomes  food 
for  the  fungus.  The  growth  of  the  plant  is  indeterminate 
and  so  many  cells  of  the  wood  are  destroyed  that  the  host 
itself  finally  gives  up  the  struggle  and  dies,  thus  giving 
itself  up  wholly  to  the  myriad  of  weaker  fungi  and  insects 
that  attack  a  dead  or  dying  tree. 

When  the  fungus  has  reached  the  proper  stage  of  develop- 


244  The  Farm  Woodlot 

ment,  the  mycelia  develop  fruiting  bodies  on  the  outside  of 
the  wood.  These  fruiting  bodies  are  usually  in  the  form 
of  a  mushroom,  toadstool  or  shelf  fungus,  but  may  have 
many  different  forms.  Some  of  these  fruiting  bodies  are 
renewed  annually,  such  as  the  mushrooms,  but  the  shelf 
fungus  renews  itself  by  simply  laying  a  new  covering  over 
the  old  growth.  In  this  new  growth  thousands  of  spores 
develop  and  mature.  From  them  the  mature  spores 
start  out  to  establish  another  generation  of  pests.  With- 
out such  plants  there  would  be  no  rot. 

Certain  conditions  are  necessary  to  the  growth  of  this 
fungus.  Without  them  it  cannot  exist.  The  most  im- 
portant of  these  are  air  and  moisture.  This  may  readily 
be  seen  by  examining  a  telegraph  pole  which  has  been  in  the 
ground  for  some  years.  It  will  be  found  in  very  good 
condition  everywhere  except  where  it  enters  the  ground. 
Here,  especially  if  there  is  any  sapwood  on  the  pole,  there 
will  be  a  ring  of  rot,  because  here  alone  we  have  the  two 
requisites,  air  and  moisture  present  in  sufficient  quantities 
to  support  fungus.  In  the  upper  portions  of  the  pole, 
there  is  plenty  of  air,  but  the  supply  of  moisture  is  not 
constant.  Below  the  surface,  where  the  soil  holds  the 
moisture  continually,  there  is  not  sufficient  air. 

This  accounts  for  the  fact  that  timbers  will  lie,  unim- 
paired, for  years  on  the  arid  desert  where  the  wood  dries 
out  very  quickly  after  a  rain.  It  explains  why  the  piling 
put  in  by  the  Lake  Dwellers  centuries  ago  is  yet  in  good 
condition,  and  why  logs  which  have  lain  for  centuries 
under  the  water-soaked  moss  and  debris  in  the  woods  of 
Washington  and  Oregon  show  no  signs  of  decay.  The 
air  cannot  get  to  them. 


The  Durability  and  Preservation  of  Woods     245 

When  either  air  or  moisture  is  lacking  fungi  cannot  live ; 
and  where  fungi  cannot  live  there  is  no  rot.  Since  air  and 
moisture  are  both  necessary  to  the  development  of  fungi, 
it  is  seen  plainly  that  by  eliminating  either  one  of  these, 
rot  can  be  prevented. 

METHOD    OF   SEASONING   LOGS   AND    ilMBER 

This  process  should  begin  in  the  woods  as  soon  as  the 
timber  is  cut  and  proceed  slowly  and  steadily  till  the  wood 
is  dry.  To  accomplish  this  the  logs  should  be  peeled, 
if  they  are  to  be  left  in  the  woods  any  length  of  time, 
and  put  upon  skids.  It  would  pay  in  some  cases  to  split 
the  more  valuable  hardwood  logs  to  cause  more  thorough 
drying.  This  seasoning,  should  not,  however,  be  allowed 
to  proceed  too  rapidly  or  the  logs  will  check  badly,  and 
the  cracks  will  open  up  the  damp  interior  of  the  log  to  the 
attacks  of  the  fungi.  The  checking  of  the  ends  of  logs  is 
prevented  by  a  coat  of  paint  that  prevents  too  rapid 
seasoning,  and  hence  checking. 

Seasoning   lumber 

In  the  lumber  yard,  still  greater  care  should  be  taken 
with  the  seasoning  of  the  sawn  lumber.  The  bottoms  of 
the  piles  should  be  raised  on  skids,  and  lath  strips  or, 
better  yet,  narrow  inch  boards,  —  placed  near  the  ends  of 
the  boards  and  always  directly  below  each  other,  —  put 
between  every  two  layers  of  boards  across  the  pile.  This 
insures  good  circulation  of  air. 

When  possible,  lumber  should  always  be  piled  under 
cover  for  seasoning.  This  allows  a  more  even  temperature, 
protected  from  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun ;  and  there  is  good 


246  The  Farm  Woodlot 

circulation  of  air  without  exposure  to  the  heavy  winds. 
From  three  months  to  a  year  and  a  half  according  to  the 
species  and  thickness  of  the  pieces  is  necessary  for  thorough 
seasoning.  Some  valuable  cabinet  woods  require  ten  or 
twelve  years  to  season  thoroughly.  It  is  well  to  paint  the 
ends  of  the  lumber  piles  to  prevent  too  rapid  drying  and 
consequent  checking. 

A  cheap  and  very  effective,  although  rather  slow  method 
of  seasoning  logs  is  to  soak  them  in  a  pond.  This  leaches 
out  the  sap  from  the  cells  and  causes  the  timbers  to  dry 
very  rapidly  when  taken  from  the  water.  It  also  prevents 
checking  to  a  considerable  degree.  Many  species  are  im- 
proved greatly  by  this  soaking  process  and  to  many  it  is 
a  necessity.  Besides  seasoning  against  fungi,  this  also 
destroys  the  larvae  of  boring  insects  that  may  be  in  the 
sap  wood. 

Wood  should  never  be  painted  until  it  is  thoroughly 
seasoned.  The  moisture  confined  in  the  interior  of  the 
wood  by  a  coat  of  paint  is  sufficient  to  support  the  growth 
of  the  dry-rot  fungus.  Thus  we  often  find  a  post  com- 
pletely rotten  through  the  center  though  it  is  painted  and 
placed  in  a  dry  situation.  For  this  same  reason  sills  or 
joists  should  never  be  built  solidly  into  a  wall  so  that  the 
air  cannot  circulate  freely  around  them.  Otherwise  mois- 
ture collects  and  dry  rot  sets  in. 

THE    COATING    OF    TIMBERS 

However,  when  the  wood  has  once  been  properly  sea- 
soned, a  coating  of  some  substance  which  will  keep  the 
wood  from  reabsorbing  moisture  will  greatly  increase  its 
durability,  —  for  it  is  the  constant  soaking  and  drying 


The  Durability  and  Preservation  of  Woods     247 

out  that  rots  a  wood  most  quickly.  This  coating  should 
be  of  an  oily  or  resinous  substance  which  will  make  a 
smooth  coating  and  will  not  peel  off  when  dry.  It  should 
be  applied  to  the  whole  exposed  surface. 

Coal  tar 

Coal  tar  is  probably  the  best  of  these  coverings.  If 
applied  hot  and  mixed  with  oil  of  turpentine,  deeper  pene- 
tration and  hence  better  protection  is  secured.  One  part 
of  unsalted  grease  to  three  parts  of  tar  oil  answers  the  same 
purpose  as  the  turpentine  and  is  cheaper.  One  barrel  of 
coal  tar  will  cover  from  two  to  three  hundred  posts  if 
properly  applied. 

Oil  paint 

Oil  paints  may  also  be  used  to  advantage  on  well- 
seasoned  wood.  They  are  made  of  boiled  linseed  oil 
mixed  with  lead,  pulverized  charcoal  or  some^  other  sub- 
stance to  give  it  body.  Soaking  the  dry  wood  in  crude 
petroleum  or  creosote  is  also  recommended. 

Lime  white-wash 

Plain  lime  white-wash  makes  a  fairly  good  protective 
covering.  It  is  not,  however,  as  good  as  an  oily  or  resinous 
substance  because  the  salts  leach  out  of  the  wood  rather 
easily.  As  long  as  the  lime  is  present,  it  works  perfectly, 
but  the  lime  washes  out.  The  wood  must,  of  course,  be  dry 
and  the  white-wash  spread  evenly.  If  shingles  are  to  be 
treated  in  this  way,  they  should  be  dipped  before  being 
laid. 


.248  The  Farm  Woodlot 

Charring 

Charring  is  a  very  good  method  of  protecting  those 
timbers  which  come  in  contact  with  the  ground.  The 
carbonization  of  the  exterior  of  the  wood  forms  a  coating 
impervious  to  the  fungus  attacks.  It  also  serves  to 
harden  the  wood.  It  must,  however,  be  very  carefully 
applied.  A  r,ather  thick  layer  of  charcoal  must  be  formed 
over  the  entire  exposed  surface,  but  at  the  same  time  the 
timber  must  not  crack.  A  crack  either  exposes  the 
interior  to  rot  or  allows  the  fire  to  burn  in  so  deep  that  the 
strength  of  the  timber  is  seriously  impaired.  The  process 
should  not  be  applied  to  any  timbers  on  whose  strength 
dependence  is  placed.  It  is  only  suitable  for  posts  and 
poles. 

A  very  effective  way  to  char  posts  is  to  dip  them  in  tar 
or,  better  yet,  crude  petroleum,  and  burn  off  the  coating. 
This  chars  the  posts  evenly  and  drives  some  of  the  oil  into 
the  wood.  Some  experiments  have  shown  that  posts 
treated  in  this  way  have  tested  very  well  in  comparison 
with  posts  treated  with  creosote. 

GENERAL    RULES    ON    PRESERVING    TIMBERS 

All  timbers  should  be  thoroughly  peeled,  both  outer 
and  inner  bark,  before  treatment.  Bark  prevents  season- 
ing, prevents  the  preservative  from  sinking  into  the  wood 
and  itself  absorbs  preservative  which  will  not  increase  the 
durability  of  the  wood. 

Sap  wood  is  much  more  easily  treated  than  heart  wood, 
in  fact  the  penetration  of  the  liquid  practically  ceases  when 
the  heartwood  is  reached,  unless  some  special  provision  is 


The  Durability  and  Preservation  of  Woods     249 

made  for  it,  except  in  the  case  of  elm,  of  which  the  heart- 
wood  treats  more  readily  than  the  sap.  The  more  dis- 
tinct the  heartwood,  the  harder  it  is  to  treat. 

The  deeper  the  penetration,  the  more  efficient  the  treat- 
ment. It  is  for  this  reason  that  open  and  closed  tank 
treating  processes  are  preferred  to  the  cheaper  brush 
methods.  The  better  the  wood  is  seasoned,  the  easier 
the  treatment  and  the  deeper  the  penetration.  An  oily  or 
resinous  solution  is  better  than  a  solution  of  mineral  salts. 
The  species  without  distinct  heartwood  treat  as  though 
they  were  all  sap. 

The  process  of  treating  the  so-called  inferior  woods  to 
increase  their  durability  has  been  in  use  in  Europe  for 
many  years.  The  results  of  the  treatment  of  European 
woods  by  all  the  different  processes  under  European  condi- 
tions of  soil  and  atmosphere  are'  fairly  well  known.  The 
factories  which  do  the  treating  often  guarantee  their 
products  for  a  certain  number  of  years.  For  example, 
such  companies  in  France  guarantee  their  beech  railroad 
ties  for  fifteen  years'  service.  It  is  an  established  and 
thoroughly  reliable  industry.  It  has  been  put  to  every 
test  and  found  satisfactory.  In  the  United  States  the 
abundance  of  all  kinds  of  wood  prevented  the  use  of  pre- 
servatives. Only  the  increasing  scarcity  of  durable  woods 
and  the  higher  price  in  consequence  have  made  it  possible. 
The  government  and  the  railroads  have  been  doing  most 
of  the  experimental  work  along  this  line.  All  the  pro- 
cesses known  in  Europe  and  some  original  ones  have  been 
tried  with  varying  results.  Dozens  of  different  methods 
and  impregnating  materials  are  used.  Many  of  these 
require  an  expensive  arid  complicated  apparatus  which 


250  The  Farm  Woodlot 

puts  them  beyond  the  farmer's  reach.  Only  such  simple 
and  inexpensive  processes  as  have  been  found  best  suited 
for  use  on  the  farm  will  be  considered  here. 

Preservative  materials 

The  most  effective,  cheapest  and  most  easily  secured 
material  according  to  the  United  States  Forest  Service  is 
creosote,  dead  oil  of  coal  tar,  a  by-product  of  coke  ovens 
and  gas  factories.  The  higher  the  specific  gravity,  the 
better  the  results  obtained.  The  price  varies  from  lO^f  in 
the  East  to  27 ff  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  15^  on  the 
Pacific  coast.  Timbers  treated  with  this  material  have 
often  had  their  length  of  service  increased  tenfold. 

Copper  sulphate,  zinc  chloride,  mercuric  chloride,  car- 
bolineum  and  many  patent  solutions  make  more  or  less 
inferior  materials  on  account  of  cost,  solubility  or  diffi- 
culty in  applying. 

There  are  three  practical  methods  of  applying  the  pre- 
servative :  painting  it  on  with  a  brush ;  dipping  the 
timbers  in  a  tank  of  the  preservative ;  or  putting  them 
through  what  is  known  as  the  open-tank  process. 

Brush   method 

The  advantage  of  the  brush  method  is  that  it  requires 
no  tank,  and  the  application  is  consequently  cheap.  The 
creosote  should  be  kept  at  a  maximum  temperature  of 
150°  F.  especially  if  the  weather  is  cold,  for  it  quickly 
solidifies  at  a  low  temperature.  The  hot  liquid  is  spread 
evenly  on  the  thoroughly  peeled  and  seasoned  post  with  a 
large  brush.  Great  care  should  be  taken  to  get  it  into  all 
the  cracks.  When  the  first  coat  has  dried,  the  second 


The  Durability  and  Preservation  of  Woods     251 

coat  should  be  applied.  The  application  of  a  third  coat 
does  no  good.  In  cold  weather  this  process  is  not  very 
satisfactory.  The  creosote,  coming  in  contact  with  the 
cold  wood  and  the  cold  atmosphere,  solidifies  so  quickly 
that  it  does  not  have  a  chance  to  soak  into  the  wood. 
The  hardened  first  coat  forms  a  shell  through  which  the 
second  coat  seldom  penetrates. 

Even  under  the  best  conditions,  the  penetration  ob- 
tained under  this  process  is  very  slight,  seldom  averaging 
over  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch.  Provided  the  cracks  that 
already  existed  in  the  wood  are  thoroughly  filled,  which 
is  far  from  certain  in  this  process,  the  post  is  entirely  free 
from  decay  so  long  as  it  holds  its  original  form ;  but  the 
slightest  check  or  crack  that  occurs  after  treatment 
exposes  the  unprotected  interior,  and  dry  rot  gets  into  the 
wood,  making  the  outer  coating  of  preservative  useless,  or, 
perhaps,  even  a  means  of  conserving  moisture  for  the  use 
of  the  fungi.  This  method  is  only  good  when  a  better 
cannot  be  applied. 

Dipping 

Very  good  results  are  secured  by  dipping  the  posts  into 
hot  solutions  of  creosote  or  carbolineum.  The  solution 
should  be  kept  at  a  maximum  of  150°  as  before,  because 
creosote  volatilizes  very  rapidly  above  that  point.  The 
posts  are  dipped  into  the  tank  and  laid  away  in  some  well- 
ventilated  place  to  dry.  The  penetration  under  this 
method  is  not  very  much  greater  than  with  the  brush 
method,  but  a  more  even  coating  is  obtained  and  the 
submersion  in  the  hot  liquid  opens  up  all  the  incipient 
checks  and  thoroughly  fills  them  with  creosote.  It 


252  The  Farm  Woodlot 

requires  the  initial  cost  of  a  large  iron  tank  and  more  fuel 
to  keep  a  large  body  of  creosote  at  a  high  temperature, 
but  the  method  of  application  is  much  more  rapid,  and 
when  there  are  any  number  of  posts  to  be  dipped,  it  is 


FIG.  54. — A  United  States   Forest  Service  plant  for  the  preservative 
treatment  of  fence  posts. 

cheaper  then  the  brush  method.  It  is  the  best  method  of 
treatment  aside  from  the  actual  impregnation  of  the 
woods. 

Open-tank  treatment.     Figs.  54,  55 

The  open-tank  method  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the 
treatment  of  fence  posts,  poles,  ties  or  other  small  timbers. 
The  same  apparatus  is  required  as  for  the  dipping  process  ; 
an  iron  tank  fitted  with  a  fire  box  or  steam  coil  for  raising 
the  temperature  of  the  creosote.  Slightly  better  results 


The  Durability  and  Preservation  of  Woods     253 

are  secured  if  an  even  temperature  can  be  maintained. 
This  is  better  accomplished  by  steam,  which,  however,  is 
not  always  to  be  had.  The  less  surface  the  liquid  has,  the 
less  oil  will  be  lost  by  volatilization;  hence  the  tank 
should  not  be  of  too  large  diameter. 

The  Forest  Service  recommends  surrounding  the  metal 
tank  with  a  plank  framework  inclosing  a  space  4  inches 
wide  between  the  tank  and  the  boards.  This  space  should 
be  packed  with  sawdust.  This  packing  is  especially 
beneficial  in  cold  climates.  It  prevents  the  too  rapid 
solidifying  of  the  creosote.  The  erection  of  such  a  plant 
will  cost  from  $30  to  $45. 

For  this  treatment  the  seasoned  peeled  posts  are  placed 
in  the  tank  of  creosote,  either  wholly  submerged  or  only 
the  butts  under  as  is  desired,  and  kept  there  from  J  to  6 
hours.  The  temperature  of  the  creosote  should  be  kept 
as  nearly  as  possible  between  200°  and  210°.  The  expan- 
sion caused  by  the  heat  forces  out  much  of  the  water  and 
air  from  the  wood  cells. 

The  fires  are  then  drawn  and  the  posts  left  in  the  cool- 
ing solution  for  J-14  hours.  The  cooling  causes  a 
vacuum  in  the  cells  from  which  the  water  and  air  were 
driven  by  the  heat,  and  the  creosote  is  forced  into  these 
vacuums  by  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere.  Mr.  Weiss  of 
the  Forest  Service  thinks  that  a  short  hot  bath  and  a  long 
cool  bath  probably  will  give  the  most  economical  results. 

If  there  are  a  large  number  of  posts  to  be  treated  and  it 
is  desirable  to  hurry  the  work,  two  tanks  may  be  used,  one 
for  the  hot  bath  and  the  other  for  the  cool.  The  posts 
may  then  be  transferred  directly  from  one  tank  to  the 
other  and  the  hot  tank  immediately  refilled.  This  is  an 


254 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


especial  advantage 
in  a  wet  climate  in 
which  there  is  dan- 
ger of  the  top  of 
the  post  rotting. 
In  this  case  the  cool 
tank  is  made  ob- 
long, about  4  X  4  X  8 
feet,  so  that  the 
posts  may  be  put 
in  horizontally  and 
completely  sub- 
merged. This  gives 
a  deep  penetration 
in  the  butt  of  the 
post  where  it  is 
needed  and  only  a 
dipping  of  the  top. 
The  posts  will 
float  very  high  in 
the  creosote  and 
some  contrivance 
will  be  necessary  to 
force  them  under. 
This  can  best  be 
done  in  the  follow- 
ing way :  set  two 
posts  firmly  about 
six  inches  apart 

beside  the  tank.     Fasten  them  together  at  a  level  with  the 
top  of  the  tank  with  a  cross  piece.     Take  a  pole  four  or 


FIG.  55.  —  Single  tank/or  treating  posts. 


The  Durability  and  Preservation  of  Woods     255 

five  inches  in  diameter  and  about  ten  feet  long.  Insert 
one  end  between  the  posts  and  under  the  cross  piece,  let- 
ting the  other  end  protrude  across  the  tank.  Under  the 
loose  end  of  the  pole  anchor  a  pulley.  By  means  of  this 
pulley  and  a  rope  attached  to  the  end  of  the  pole,  the  pole 
may  be  drawn  down  and  tied.  Then  cut  a  two-inch  plank 
of  a  length  that  will  fit  loosely  in  the  tank  crosswise.  Lay 
this  flat.  Cut  another  piece  about  two  feet  long.  Nail 
one  end  of  this  to  the  center  of  the  first  piece  so  that  it 
stands  at  right  angles  to  it.  Brace  it  securely.  When  the 
posts  are  placed  in  the  tank  lay  this  long  piece  on  them. 
Then  place  the  pole  across  the  upright  piece.  Draw  down 
the  end  of  the  pole  with  the  rope  and  the  posts  will  be 
submerged.  This  apparatus  has  worked  very  successfully. 

The  penetration  secured  by  this  method  varies  from 
an  eighth  of  an  inch  to  two  inches  according  to  the  species, 
the  degree  of  seasoning  and  the  thickness  of  the  sap  wood. 
It  usually  is  possible  to  get  complete  penetration  of  the 
sap  wood ;  the  heart  wood  is  little  affected.  This  penetra- 
tion is  sufficient  to  prevent  small  checks  and  cracks  from 
exposing  the  untreated  interior  of  the  post.  The  life  of  a 
post  is  increased  under  normal  conditions  of  use  and 
atmosphere  to  about  twenty  years. 

Experience  in  Minnesota  has  shown  the  following 
equipment  to  be  best  suited  for  use  on  the  farm  on  which 
steam  is  not  always  available.  It  is  inexpensive,  can  be 
transported  easily  from  one  farm  to  another  in  any  wagon 
and  is  more  easily  heated  than  the  ordinary  tank.  It 
consists  of  a  single  cylindrical  tank,  built  of  twenty  gauge 
galvanized  iron,  three  feet  in  diameter  and  three  and  one- 
half  or  four  feet  deep.  The  iron  may  be  plain  or  corru- 


256  The  Farm  Woodlot 

gated.  The  latter  makes  a  stiffer  tank,  but  in  either  case 
it  should  be  reenforced  around  the  top  and  bottom  with 
three-quarter  inch  angle  iron.  It  should  be  perforated 
six  inches  from  the  botton  and  two  feet  from  the  bottom 
to  receive  a  two-inch  pipe.  If  the  iron  is  plain,  locknuts 
should  be  provided  to  make  the  joint  tight ;  if  it  is  corru- 
gated, nipples  should  be  soldered  in.  Into  these  openings 
a  four-foot  "U"  of  two-inch  pipe  is  inserted,  as  shown  in 
the  figure.  This  apparatus  works  like  the  water-back 
on  a  stove.  A  fire  is  built  under  the  "U"  pipe,  and  the 
oil  in  the  tank  is  readily  heated.  The  temperature  can 
easily  be  controlled  in  this  way,  and  there  is  less  danger 
from  fire  in  case  of  an  overflow  from  the  tank.  When 
the  hot  bath  has  been  completed,  the  fire  can  be  removed 
and  the  oil  cooled  as  desired.  When  the  butts  of  the  posts 
have  been  treated  in  this  way,  the  oil  left  in  the  tank  can 
be  applied  to  the  upper  portion  of  the  posts  with  a  brush. 
This  utilizes  the  oil  which  otherwise  would  be  wasted  and 
insures  the  top  of  post  from  rotting  while  the  butt  is  still 
good.  Such  a  tank  can  be  bought  for  ten  or  fifteen  dollars. 
It  is  quite  as  effective  as  the  more  expensive  double  tank 
outfit  and  is  much  more  easily  moved  about.  It  is  neces- 
sarily much  slower  than  the  double  tank  process,  but  that 
would  not  be  very  important  where  a  comparatively 
small  number  of  posts  is  involved. 

The  cost  of  such  treatment  cannot  be  stated  definitely 
in  a  general  work  of  this  kind.  It  will  vary  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  according  to  the  cost  of  labor,  fuel 
and  creosote.  The  creosote  is  of  course  the  controlling 
factor.  The  cost  of  fuel  and  labor  are  almost  negligible 
and,  moreover,  in  many  cases  cost  nothing  but  a  little 


The  Durability  and  Preservation  of  Woods    257 


effort  on  the  part  of  the  farmer  himself.  This  method  is 
recommended  by  the  United  States  Forest  Service  as  the 
best. 

Fifteen  cents  is  probably  near  the  maximum  if  we  consider 
the  cost  of  fuel  and  labor.1  Considering  the  annual  expense 
of  a  treated  post  as  compared  with  an  untreated  post,  we 
find  that  the  increased  life  of  the  treated  post,  in  spite  of  its 
higher  initial  cost,  makes  its  annual  cost  lower  by  one  to 
three  cents.  At  that  rate  a  long  line  of  fence  would  pay 
fairly  well. 


UNTREATED 
POSTS 

TREATED 

Cost  of  post        

$.06 

$.06 

Treating 

00 

15 

Setting       

.12 

.12 

Cost  set  in  fence           ... 

$.18 

$33 

Length  of  service     

6  years 

20  years 

Annual  cost 

$03 

$0165 

Saving  per  year  per  mile  of  fence  with  treated  posts,  $4.32. 

The  agents  of  the  carbolineum  companies  assert  that  a 
simple  dipping  with  carbolineum,  at  a  cost  of  three  cents 
a  post,  is  as  effective  as  the  more  expensive  treatment 
with  creosote.  This  has  never  been  adequately  tested. 

A  community,  by  buying  one  of  these  treating  plants 
and  cooperating  in  the  use  of  it,  could  greatly  reduce  the 
cost  of  treatment  and  this  without  any  inconvenience  to 
themselves.  The  capacity  of  one  plant  would  probably 
be  enough  for  all. 

1  The  average  cost  of  treatment  is  less  than  ten  cents. 


258 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


The  apparatus  is  inexpensive,  the  process  simple,  the 
work  easy  and  capable  of  being  done  at  a  time  of  the  year 
when  the  farmer  is  at  leisure,  and  the  results  are  worth 


FIG.  56.  —  Cottonwoods  as  roadside  trees. 

trying  for.  The  farmers  owe  it  to  themselves  and  to  their 
children  to  make  better  use  of  the  timbers  growing  on 
their  farms. 


CHAPTER  XII 

ARBORICULTURE  AND  ORNAMENTAL 
PLANTING 

ALTHOUGH  ornamental  planting  does  not  belong  in  a 
book  on  forestry,  it  has  to  do  with  trees,  and  popular 
demand  requires  that  a  few  of  the  important  points  be 
taken  up  briefly.  The  foregoing  chapters  on  the  handling 
and  growth  of  trees  in  groves  and  plantations  make  it  easy 
to  deal  with  the  individual  tree  or  small  group. 

Lawn  trees  are  usually  grown  for  one  of  two  purposes : 
ornament  and  shade,  or  the  hiding  of  some  unsightly  object. 
In  either  case,  it  is  necessary  to  have  hardy  trees  that  can 
stand  the  cold  of  winter  and  the  hot  winds  of  summer 
without  becoming  stunted  and  scrawny  in  shape. 

The  trees  selected  for  such  planting  need  not  be  chosen 
from  the  list  of  trees  that  are  suitable  for  forest  plantations 
in  that  region.  The  more  careful  selection  of  location, 
the  more  thorough  care  and  cultivation  that  may  be 
practiced  with  the  individual  tree,  make  it  possible  to  grow 
successfully  many  species  that  could  not  succeed  under 
plantation  conditions.  Such  species  are  always  more  or 
less  of  a  risk,  but  the  added  interest  in  growing  a  tree  that 
is  a  stranger  to  the  region  makes  the  chance  worth  while. 
If  shade  and  ornament  is  the  object,  care  should  be  taken  to 
select  trees  which  will  produce  this  effect.  Often  trees  of 
ugly  form  and  appearance  are  placed  where  much  better 
species  could  easily  be  grown.  The  only  excuse  for  an  ugly 

259 


260 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


tree  in  such  a  situation  is  its  oddness,  and  the  growing  of 
such  trees  should  not  be  risked  till  the  chief  object  of  shade 
and  protection  have  been  secured  by  the  use  of  safe  species. 


In  order  to  be  desirable  for  a  lawn,  it  is  not  enough  that 
a  tree  shall  grow  and  thrive.     It  must  have  a  shapely 


Arboriculture  and  Ornamental  Planting      261 

form  that  will  please  the  eye,  and  be  long  lived.  If  a 
shade  tree,  it  must  have  dense  enough  foliage  to  produce 
a  solid,  cool  shade  and  not  have  merely  enough  leaves  to 
stop  the  breeze  and  let  through  the  heat  of  the  sunshine. 
Moreover,  the  branches  must  be  long,  low  and  widespread- 
ing  enough  to  furnish  a  considerable  area  of  shade.  It 
must  be  free  from  the  attacks  of  insect  pests  that  in  the 
form  of  dropping  bugs  or  caterpillars  would  make  its  pro- 
tection unpleasant.  It  must  be  "clean" ;  that  is,  it  must 
not  shed  excessive  quantities  of  cotton,  leaf  stems  or  twigs 
on  the  lawn.  It  must  not  bear  soft,  squashy  berries  or 
other  similar  fruits.  The  trees  which  fulfill  all  these 
requirements  are  not  very  numerous ;  there  are,  however, 
good  species  for  every  region. 

Trees  for  roadside  planting  or  bordering  a  driveway  need 
not  possess  all  these  properties ;  in  fact,  some  of  them  are 
undesirable.  They  must  not  have  low,  widespreading 
limbs,  but  rather  limbs  that  rise  at  a  sharp  angle  so  that 
they  are  widespread  only  at  a  considerable  distance  above 
the  ground.  Neither  soft  fruit  or  leaf  litter  are  objec- 
tionable, but  falling  limbs  and  cotton  are  as  undesirable 
here  as  elsewhere.  They  should  also  be  long  lived.  Such 
trees  form  over  the  drive  a  high  arch  which  is  very  attrac- 
tive. They  should  be  rapid  growers,  for  the  effect  is  not 
appreciated  until  the  trees  are  large. 

In  the  formation  of  groups  or  clumps,  the  most  impor- 
tant point  is  the  ability  of  the  trees  to  grow  in  close  forma- 
tions. For  this  purpose,  trees  are  selected  that  are  very 
tolerant  of  shade.  They  should  always  be  of  rather  com- 
pact form,  and  have  the  habit  of  branching  down  to  the 
ground.  This  adds  density  and  solidity  to  the  appearance 


262 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


of  the  group.  Here  again  the  trees  should  be  "  clean," 
but  otherwise  the  nature  of  the  fruit  is  immaterial.  Rapid- 
ity of  growth  is  not  essential,  for  the  clump  presents  an 
attractive  appearance  at  all  stages. 


FIG.  58.  — Windbreak  of  willow  showing  dense  foliage  to  the  ground. 

In  the  formation  of  a  screen,  thick  limbs  growing  down 
to  the  ground,  a  dense  foliage,  the  ability  to  grow  in  a  close 
group  and  rapid  growth  are  the  qualities  to  be  desired. 
Such  trees  as  the  white  pine  or  the  basswood  might  give 
promise  for  a  time,  but  the  effect  would  soon  be  spoiled. 
As  the  trees  grow  older,  they  would  lose  their  lower  limbs, 
and  the  screen  would  soon  be  full  of  openings.  Willows, 


Arboriculture  and  Ornamental  Planting      263 

spruce,  balsam  and  cedars  make  the  best  screens,  because 
they  put  out  limbs  close  to  the  ground  and  retain  them  as 
they  grow  older  (Figs.  58,  59).  They  grow  very  close 
together,  and  form  an  impenetrable  screen.  Willow  is, 
of  course,  the  best  for  quick  results,  but  it  is  rather  short 
lived  and  is  deciduous.  If  this  species  is  used,  two  rows 
should  be  planted,  and  one  of  them  cut  back  every  eight  or 
ten  years.  This  makes  them  sprout  vigorously  and  keeps 
the  lower  limbs  thrifty.  It  is  well  to  plant  a  row  or  two  of 
spruce  or  cedar  at  the  same  time.  These  will  make  a  more 
permanent  evergreen  screen.  When  they  have  attained 
sufficient  size,  the  willows  may  be  cut  down. 

TRANSPLANTING    LARGE   TREES 

The  methods  of  planting  small  seedlings  have  been  dealt 
with  under  Sylviculture,  but  in  lawn  planting  it  is  often 
desirable  to  use  fairly  good  sized  trees.  The  transplanting 
of  these  requires  much  more  care  and  skill.  Deciduous 
trees  and  conifers  require  different  methods. 

The  deciduous  trees,  or  hardwoods,  are  best  transplanted 
in  the  early  spring  before  growth  has  started.  They 
should  be  taken  up  with  as  much  of  the  root  system  as 
possible.  If  all  the  roots  can  be  kept  intact,  a  very  light 
pruning  of  the  crown  is  all  that  is  necessary.  This,  how- 
ever, can  very  seldom  be  done,  and  when  the  roots  are 
pruned  it  is  necessary  to  prune  the  crown  more  heavily. 
A  balance  must  be  maintained  between  the  roots  and  the 
crown,  the  advantage  always  being  kept  with  the  former. 
Probably  the  safest  method  is  to  cut  off  all  the  limbs  and 
prune  the  main  stem  severely.  This,  however,  is  apt  to 
injure  the  shape  of  the  tree  and  should  be  avoided  when 


264 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


possible.  In  transplanting,  the  roots  should  not  be  exposed 
any  longer  than  possible  and  never  allowed  to  dry  out. 
The  roots  of  the  hardwoods  are  not  so  sensitive  as  those  of 
the  conifers,  but  they  will  not  stand  too  much  exposure. 

In  setting  out  such  a  tree,  a  hole  should  be  dug  that  will 
easily  accommodate  the  roots  in  their  original  position. 


FIG.  59.  —  A  prosperous  evergreen  windbreak. 

They  should  never  be  crowded.  The  black  surface  earth 
should  be  put  in  a  separate  pile.  The  tree  should  be 
placed  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  same  position  in  which 
it  was  growing,  —  possibly  set  two  or  three  inches  deeper. 
The  black  earth  should  then  be  put  in  first  and  packed 
tightly  around  the  roots.  The  other  soil  may  then  be  used 
to  fill  the  hole,  care  being  taken  to  firm  it  well.  The  soil 


Arboriculture  and  Ornamental  Planting     265 

should  be  left  a  little  lower  than  the  surrounding  ground 
so  that  some  of  the  surface  water  may  be  retained  in  the 
hollow.  A  top  dressing  of  well-rotted  manure  or  wood 
ashes  will  help,  for  trees,  like  anything  else,  grow  better 
in  good  soil.  No  manure  should  be  put  in  the  hole  around 
the  roots  for  fear  of  burning  them.  It  is  possible  to  plant 
such  trees  in  the  autumn  after  the  falling  of  the  leaves,  but 
they  are  apt  to  suffer  from  the  frost  the  following  spring  if 
there  is  much  clay  in  the  soil. 

The  conifers  need  more  careful  handling.  Their  roots 
should  never  be  exposed  or  allowed  to  dry  out  in  the  least. 
This  can  be  prevented  only  by  moving  them  with  a  large 
ball  of  earth.  Since  it  is  very  difficult  to  keep  such  a  ball 
of  earth  intact  when  the  ground  is  soft  in  the  early  spring, 
the  following  method  is  recommended  when  the  tree  has  to 
be  moved  any  distance.  For  a  short  move  they  can  be 
handled  like  the  hardwoods.  In  the  autumn,  before  the 
ground  is  hard  frozen,  dig  a  trench  around  the  tree  to  be 
moved  so  as  to  include  most  of  the  roots  in  the  central 
core  of  earth.  Fill  in  the  trench  with  straw  to  keep  the 
ground  at  the  bottom  from  freezing.  Dig  a  hole  in  the 
place  in  which  the  tree  is  to  be  replanted  large  enough 
to  accommodate  the  ball  of  earth  conveniently.  Also 
fill  this  with  straw  or  manure  and  cover  the  earth  taken 
from  the  hole  with  the  same  material  to  prevent  freezing. 

Nothing  more  need  be  done  till  some  convenient  time 
in  the  winter  when  the  ground  is  hard  frozen,  and  pref- 
erably when  snow  is  on  the  ground,  because  it  is  easier 
to  load  the  tree  on  a  low  sled  than  on  a  wagon.  Remove 
the  straw  from  the  trench  around  the  tree,  and  loosen  the 
ball  of  earth  at  the  bottom  and  load  the  tree  on  the  sled 


266  The  Farm  Woodlot 

or  wagon.  Skids  are  often  more  convenient  than  a  wagon 
when  there  is  no  snow.  The  ball  of  earth  on  the  roots 
will  be  hard  frozen  and  will  hold  together  readily.  When 
the  tree  has  been  brought  near  its  location,  remove  the 
covering  from  the  hole  and  dirt  pile.  Lower  the  tree  into 
the  hole  so  that  it  is  a  little  deeper  than  it  was  before. 
Fill  in  around  the  ball  of  earth  with  the  soft  earth,  packing 
it  firmly  so  that  there  is  a  good  contact  with  the  ball  and 
with  the  sides  of  the  hole.  Leave  a  layer  of  straw  over 
the  fill  to  prevent  injury  from  the  freezing  and  thawing 
in  the  spring.  If  this  method  is  carefully  practiced,  the  tree 
should  be  affected  little  by  its  move.  Care  should  be  taken 
to  secure  all  the  roots,  for  if  pruning  of  the  top  is  neces- 
sary, the  shape  of  an  evergreen  is  likely  to  be  spoiled. 

By  means  of  these  methods,  it  is  possible  to  transplant 
almost  any  tree,  but  there  is  a  limit  of  labor  and  expense 
beyond  which  it  is  not  usually  advisable  to  go.  With 
the  increase  in  the  size  of  the  tree,  there  is  an  enormous 
increase  in  labor.  As  a  general  rule,  it  does  not  pay  to 
transplant  a  tree  that  is  more  than  three  or  four  inches  in 
diameter.  In  this  connection  it  must  be  remembered 
that  much  of  the  pleasure  derived  from  a  lawn  tree  is  ob- 
tained from  observing  its  growth  and  development.  In 
this  respect  comparatively  young  trees  are  even  better 
than  the  older  ones  which  are  no  longer  making  very 
apparent  changes. 

THE   PRUNING   OF  TREES 

The  pruning  of  trees  is  an  operation  that  very  easily 
may  be  overdone.  It  is  necessary  under  the  following 
conditions:  when  the  roots  have  been  injured;  when  dead 


Arboriculture  and  Ornamental  Planting      267 

limbs  occur;    when  rot  appears;    to  improve  the  shape 
of  the  tree ;  to  prevent  damage  from  wind. 

When  the  roots  have  been  injured 

This  subject  has  already  been  dealt  with  under  the  head 
of  transplanting.  The  same  conditions  may  be  brought 
about  by  root  disease,  or  necessary  pruning  of  roots,  and 
the  same  remedy  applies. 

When  dead  limbs  occur 

The  appearance  of  dead  limbs  may  be  due  to  old  age, 
insect  or  fungus,  snow,  hail  or  wind  breakage,  or  in- 
sufficient nourishment.  In  any  case,  only  the  dead  or 
infected  limbs  should  be  removed.  If  there  are  indications 
of  insects  or  disease,  the  pruned  limbs  should  be  carefully 
removed  and  burned.  No  trace  of  them  should  be  left. 

To  improve  the  shape  of  the  tree 

Pruning  for  this  purpose  should  be  done  very  sparingly. 
It  is  not  generally  advisable  to  attempt  to  change  very 
greatly  the  natural  shape  of  a  tree.  The  shape  and 
habits  of  a  tree  should  be  known  and  considered  when 
the  tree  is  planted,  instead  of  planting  indiscriminately 
and  then  trying  to  make  it  conform  to  the  fancy  of  the 
owner.  Any  attempt  to  make  a  tall,  fan-shaped  tree  round- 
headed,  or  vice  versa,  will  fail,  and  the  tree  so  treated 
will  always  have  a  stilted,  artificial  appearance.  A  more 
bushy  growth  can  be  secured  by  pruning  the  leading  shoots 
and  this  is  sometimes  advisable.  It  is  also  comparatively 
easy  to  accentuate  the  natural  tendency  of  the  tree  by 
cutting  off  any  stray  branches  which  may  be  wandering 


268  The  Farm  Woodlot 

somewhat  from  the  usual  form.  This  may  often  be  done 
to  advantage.  If  there  is  any  question  about  pruning  a 
tree,  always  let  it  alone. 

To  prevent  wind  breakage 

Certain  trees  are  very  liable  to  breakage  in  windy  places. 
These  are  always  trees  in  which  the  branches  form  a  sharp 
angle  at  the  fork.  The  soft  maple  and  the  white  elm  are 
typical  and  probably  the  worst  offenders  in  this  respect. 
Their  natural  shape  is  very  beautiful  and  should  not  be 
tampered  with  except  when  experience  has  shown  that 
they  cannot  stand  the  strain.  If  the  soft  maple  is  planted 
on  the  prairies  or  in  any  other  unusually  windy  location, 
its  spreading  tendency  should  be  thwarted  as  much  as 
possible  by  severe  pruning,  for  the  wood  is  weak  and 
brittle.  Close  forks  should  be  prevented  as  much  as 
possible.  The  wood  of  the  elm  is  stronger  and  tougher; 
the  fork  is  its  weak  point.  When  it  will  not  disfigure  the 
tree,  one  of  the  branches  should  be  cut  off.  The  essential 
forks  can  be  strengthened  by  boring  a  hole  through  both 
branches  about  two  or  three  feet  above  the  fork  and  putting 
in  a  long  bolt  well  washered  at  both  ends.  This  will  often 
prevent  breakage  and  preserve  the  natural  shape  of  the 
tree.  Conifers  never  need  pruning  except  in  the  case  of 
dead  or  injured  limbs,  with  the  exception  of  arborvitae  or 
red  cedar  when  used  in  a  hedge.  The  commonest  reason 
for  pruning  is  to  clean  the  lower  limbs  from  the  trunk  so 
that  one  can  walk  under  the  tree.  This  can  always  be 
safely  done,  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  this  low 
branching  is  one  of  the  chief  beauties  of  some  trees, 
especially  such  conifers  as  spruce,  balsam  and  larch. 


Arboriculture  and  Ornamental  Planting      269 

How  to  prune 

The  limb  should  be  cut  close  to  the  main  stem  with  a 
smooth,  even  cut.  No  long  stubs  should  be  left.  Care 
should  be  taken  not  to  let  the  limb  break  off  when  partially 
cut  and  skin  the  main  stem.  This  can  be  prevented  by 
cutting  a  little  on  the  underside  first.  When  the  limb 
has  been  removed,  the  wound  should  be  covered  over  with 
grafting  wax,  tar  or  white  lead  to  prevent  the  entrance 
of  fungi  spores.  Pruning  is  best  done  in  the  early  spring 
before  growth  starts. 

ORNAMENTAL    TREES 

Entire  books  have  been  written  on  the  arrangement  of 
trees  in  ornamental  planting  and  only  the  briefest  mention 
of  the  most  important  points  can  be  made  here.  In  the 
first  place  it  must  be  remembered  when  a  tree  is  planted 
that  it  is  going  to  grow,  and  due  allowance  must  be  made  for 
its  ultimate  size.  Do  not  plant  too  close  to  the  house  or 
porch.  Never  plant  directly  in  front  of  a  window  unless 
for  the  purpose  of  blocking  some  unattractive  outlook. 
If  there  is  any  good  view  or  object  of  interest  in  the  vicin- 
ity, bear  it  in  mind  and  keep  the  view  of  it  open.  If  there 
is  any  objectionable  view,  blot  it  out.  Always  keep  an 
opening  or  two  to  the  main  road  and  the  approach  to  the 
house.  Too  many  trees  are  better  than  too  few;  they 
can  easily  be  cut  out.  Some  open  lawn  is  desirable ;  do 
not  scatter  trees  everywhere,  group  them  or  bank  them 
around  the  edges.  If  the  shape  of  a  tree  is  its  chief  beauty, 
place  it  in  the  open  where  it  may  be  seen  to  advantage. 

The  following  tables  give  the  characteristics  and  uses 
of  our  more  important  ornamental  trees. 


Li 


•1s£    as 


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OH                K                     S                53 

CHAPTER   XIII 
HISTORY  OF   THE  FOREST 

So  many  new  problems  have  confronted  the  people  of 
this  country  that  we  are  too  likely  to  think  that  all  our 
difficulties  are  peculiar  to  our  own  conditions.  Forestry 
is  commonly  considered  as  a  brand  new  theory  all  our  own, 
a  theory  which  many  think  not  needed  or  altogether  im- 
practicable. We  forget  that  the  countries  of  Europe  were 
at  one  time  as  "new"  and  as  unsettled  as  our  own,  and 
have  since  passed  through  the  same  stages  of  development 
and  many  more  besides. 

We  look  to  our  frontiers  for  our  necessary  supply  of 
timber  and  do  not  realize  with  what  rapidity  those  fron- 
tiers are  becoming  cut-over  and  settled  regions  or  that  a 
time  will  come  in  no  very  distant  future  when  the  frontiers, 
in  the  present  sense  of  the  word,  will  have  ceased  to  exist. 
The  same  was  true  in  Europe,  but  the  frontiers  have  long 
ago  disappeared  and  they  have  learned  to  produce  their 
timber  like  their  other  crops  in  the  heart  of  the  settled 
region,  and  produce  them  successfully  at  a  good  profit 
to  the  owners  and  to  the  state.  It  has  long  ceased  to  be 
an  experiment  with  them  and  is  recognized  as  being  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  the  country's  welfare.  A  brief  review 
of  that  development  in  Germany,  the  most  progressive  of 
the  European  states  in  that  line,  will  aid  us  in  getting  the 
proper  view  point  for  understanding  our  own  conditions. 

277 


278  The  Farm  Woodlot 

At  the  time  when  the  Eastern  tribes  invaded  Germany, 
that  country  was  practically  an  unbroken  forest  and  the 
tribes  living  there  were  of  a  wandering  character.  The 
needs  of  their  civilization,  or  rather  of  their  barbarism, 
were  few  and  their  demands  upon  the  forest  practically 
none.  Their  life  was  very  much  like  that  of  our  eastern 
Indians.  Their  fuel  was  supplied  by  the  dead  wood  on 
the  ground  and  they  cut  practically  no  standing  timber. 

When  these  tribes  settled  down  to  village  life  in  a  per- 
manent location,  it  became  necessary  to  build  substantial 
houses  of  wood,  and  fields  had  to  be  cleared  for  agricultural 
purposes.  That  meant  the  cutting  away  of  the  forest. 
This  opening  thus  started  was  necessarily  steadily  enlarged 
from  year  to  year.  The  villages  grew  in  population  and 
needed  larger  areas  for  the  raising  of  their  food  supplies. 
With  the  demand  for  firewood  for  so  many  persons  concen- 
trated in  one  place  for  so  long  a  time,  the  dead  timber  no 
longer  sufficed  and  the  supply  had  to  be  drawn  from  the 
standing  timber.  Moreover,  the  more  complicated  system 
of  village  life  was  constantly  developing  new  uses  for  wood. 
And  we  must  remember  that  wood  fulfilled  many  more 
purposes  then  than  it  does  with  us,  for  the  use  of  the  metals 
was  very  little  known. 

With  the  establishment  of  village  life  came  the  idea  of 
private  ownership  of  land.  The  house  with  the  surround- 
ing garden  was  private  property,  the  pasture  was  the  com- 
mon property  of  the  village,  but  the  forest  was  not  as  yet 
considered  as  property  at  all.  It  was  used  by  any  one  and 
every  one  as  a  source  of  wood  and  as  a  hog  pasture,  for  when 
the  forest  was  composed  of  beech  and  oak,  the  mast  was  con- 
sidered of  as  much  or  even  more  importance  than  the  wood. 


History  of  the  Forest  279 

The  first  idea  of  the  forest  really  belonging  to  any  one 
came  with  the  conquering  Romans.  According  to  their 
law,  all  the  unsettled  portion  of  a  conquered  country  be- 
came the  property  of  the  ruler,  and  so  the  forest  became  the 
property  of  the  new  kings.  They  had  little  use  for  it  ex- 
cept as  hunting  grounds  and  managed  it  accordingly. 
They  protected  the  game,  making  it  a  greater  offense  to 
kill  a  deer  than  a  man,  but  they  did  not  interfere  with  the 
use  of  the  forest  for  fuel  and  pasturage.  This  privilege 
was  the  only  source  of  the  peasants'  wood  supply,  de- 
pendent entirely  upon  the  favor  of  the  king. 

The  king  granted  much  of  this  forest  land  to  his  nobles, 
who  in  turn  created  game  preserves  and  cared  nothing  for 
the  forest  itself:  The  peasants  continued  to  secure  their 
fuel  and  pasturage  in  the  same  way,  and  the  continuance 
of  this  practice  finally  constituted  it  a  right,  which  the 
nobles  no  longer  had  the  power  to  take  away. 

In  spite  of  this  free  use  of  the  forest  that  the  villages  en- 
joyed, they  suffered  from  a  shortage  of  wood  at  a  very  early 
date.  The  supply  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the 
towns  was  used  up  and  the  difficulty  of  transporting  such 
bulky  material  more  than  a  few  miles  made  the  vast  areas 
of  forest  on  the  frontiers  almost  useless  to  the  towns,  - 
it  was  out  of  their  reach.  There  were  no  railroads  nor 
adequate  road  systems  of  any  kind ;  therefore  the  towns 
on  the  rivers  were  the  only  ones  which  could  draw  on  the 
timber  supply  of  distant  regions.  This  was  an  important 
factor  in  the  rapid  growth  of  the  river  towns.  With  the 
growth  of  the  towns  the  timber  famine  became  more 
acute. 

It  is  interesting  to  read  some  of  the  laws  that  were  passed 


280  The  Farm  Woodlot 

to  remedy  this  evil.  The  size  of  houses  and  the  number  of 
houses  that  could  be  built  were  regulated.  The  use  of  the 
green  bush  as  a  tavern  sign  was  forbidden.  The  use  of 
coffins  was  prohibited  in  Austria  and  canvas  bags  used  to 
save  wood.  No  wood  could  be  shipped  from  one  dis- 
trict to  another  and  the  bakers  of  one  town  were  even 
prevented  from  baking  bread  for  their  neighbors  of  another 
town  unless  the  customer  brought  his  wood  with  him. 
Of  course  these  measures  postponed  the  day  when  the 
present  supply  would  be  exhausted,  but  only  postponed  it. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  a  few  far-sighted  men  took  warning 
from  existing  conditions,  foresaw  the  inevitable  timber 
famine  and  realized  the  temporary  nature  of  the  relief 
obtained  by  restrictions  which  were  being  placed  on  the 
use  of  wood.  They  knew  that  something  must  be  done  to 
increase  the  supply,  and  there  was  evidently  but  one  way 
to  do  this,  —  to  grow  trees. 

The  conception  of  this  idea  was  closely  followed  by 
laws  aimed  at  the  renewal  of  forests  instead  of  the  restric- 
tion of  consumption.  These  measures  were  at  first  inade- 
quate because  so  little  was  known  of  the  growth  of  trees 
and  the  necessary  measures  of  culture.  It  was  a  subject 
which  had  never  before  received  any  attention  and  there 
were  no  trained  men  to  take  charge  of  or  direct  the  work. 
Every  plan  tried  was  in  the  nature  of  an  experiment.  No 
one  even  knew  how  long  it  would  take  to  grow  a  tree. 
Some  believed  in  the  planting  of  seedlings  grown  in  nurs- 
eries, while  others  argued  for  the  use  of  the  seedlings  that 
grow  naturally  under  the  old  trees  in  the  forest. 

The  work  was  further  hindered  by  the  fact  that  the  idea 
of  the  forest  as  a  hunting  ground  rather  than  a  source  of 


History  of  the  Forest  281 

timber  still  persisted.  The  protection  of  the  game  was 
still  considered  of  paramount  importance  by  the  nobles 
who  owned  the  larger  part  of  the  forests,  and  for  more 
than  a  century  the  control  of  the  forests  as  wood-pro- 
ducers was  in  the  hands  of  the  game  wardens.  Moreover, 
the  peasants'  rights  of  usage,  which  had  become  so  firmly 
established  that  it  was  impossible  to  stop  them,  were  now 
found  to  interfere  seriously  with  the  proper  handling  of 
the  forests. 

However,  the  proper  solution  of  the  problem  had  been 
found,  and  the  work  developed  rapidly.  Schools  were 
established  for  the  training  of  men  to  take  care  of  the  for- 
ests, and  experiment  stations  worked  out  the  best  methods 
of  treatment.  It  was  recognized  as  an  important  factor 
in  the  nation's  welfare  and  placed  on  an  independent  basis. 
Long  before  the  development  of  transportation  facilities 
made  possible  the  cutting  of  the  last  of  the  natural  forests 
and  before  the  pinch  of  the  timber  famine  was  very  seri- 
ously felt,  there  were  mature  forests  that  had  been  planted 
out  and  cared  for  in  systematic  manner. 

Every  stick  of  timber  that  Germany  uses  to-day  has  been 
grown  from  seed  under  a  definite  system  of  management 
and  as  carefully  cultivated  as  any  crop  in  the  country. 
This  management  has  been  so  successful  that  every  acre 
of  forest  land  in  the  government  forests  yields  a  net  revenue 
to  the  state  annually  averaging  about  $2.50.  Some  forests 
yield  as  high  as  $12.50  an  acre.  Moreover,  they  are  fur- 
nishing steady  employment  to  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
men  throughout  the  country  and  thus  distributing  millions 
of  dollars  among  the  classes  most  in  need. 

Many  of  the  cities  manage  their  own  municipal  forests 


282  The  Farm  Woodlot 

and  manage  them  to  such  advantage  that  their  taxes  are 
considerably  lightened,  and  in  some  cases  done  away  with 
altogether.  Associations  and  other  organizations  seek 
revenue  in  this  manner,  and  many  private  owners  realize 
the  value  of  the  investment  though  they  have  not  as  yet 
developed  their  systems  to  the  same  degree  as  the  govern- 
ment. 

Such  is  the  status  of  the  forests  in  many  of  the  countries 
of  Europe,  those  which  are  the  most  progressive  and  most 
prosperous.  Some  of  the  countries  of  southern  Europe 
have  been  slow  to  take  up  the  work.  They  are  mostly 
the  states  that  are  backward  in  every  form  of  development, 
and  they  are  now  suffering  from  their  lack  of  foresight. 
All  of  them  have  their  progress  retarded  by  lack  of  timber 
and  are  paying  out  large  sums  for  wood  imports,  while  their 
own  neglected  forest  areas,  instead  of  yielding  a  revenue, 
are  lying  idle  and  becoming  more  and  more  worthless  from 
year  to  year.  In  some  localities,  such  as  Greece  and  Spain, 
the  country  has  been  reduced  almost  to  desert  conditions. 
All  of  them  have  now  realized  their  mistake  and  are  spend- 
ing large  sums  of  money  to  place  their  forests  on  a  paying 
basis.  They  are  the  oldest  countries  of  Europe  in  civiliza- 
tion, and  it  would  have  meant  hundreds  of  millions  of  dol- 
lars to  them  if  they  had  stopped  this  leak  centuries  ago. 

THE   NORTH   AMERICA   EXPERIENCE 

Now  let  us  turn  for  a  moment  to  the  development  of 
North  America.  When  the  first  settlers  came  to  this 
continent  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  they  found  an  endless 
forest  extending  from  Canada  to  Florida.  There  was 
practically  no  open  land  » of  any  considerable  extent. 


History  of  the  Forest  283 

Clearings  had  to  be  made  to  secure  even  the  little  space 
necessary  for  the  building  of  villages.  The  clearing  of 
fields  for  crops  was  a  tremendous  undertaking.  Timber 
was  the  one  thing  of  which  the  early  settlers  had  a  great, 
and  to  them  worthless,  superfluity,  —  for  there  was  no 
local  market  and  the  facilities  for  export  were  very  insuffi- 
cient. Naturally  the  settler  came  to  look  upon  the  forest 
as  his  most  formidable  enemy ;  it  hindered  his  early  move 
in  the  development  of  the  country  and  fostered  the  wild 
animals  and  still  wilder  Indians.  No  wonder  he  looked 
on  the  forest  as  something  to  be  destroyed  and  handed  the 
feeling  down  to  his  children,  completely  overlooking  the 
almost  invaluable  benefit  that  he  was  receiving  from  such 
an  abundant  supply  of  cheap  lumber. 

For  a  hundred  years  after  the  first  settlement,  no  man 
traveled  far  enough  west  to  discover  a  country  that  was 
not  heavily  wooded.  The  question  of  timber  supply  never 
entered  their  heads,  for  the  supply  seemed  to  them  truly 
inexhaustible  and  under  the  circumstances  the  conception 
of  a  lack  of  wood  was  inconceivable.  A  very  small  per- 
centage of  the  wood  that  had  to  be  cut  for  other  purposes 
could  be  used,  and  enormous  quantities  of  it  had  to  be 
burned  to  get  rid  of  it.  Little  was  cut  for  the  value  of  the 
wood  itself. 

Only  as  the  towns  developed  was  there  any  call  for  wood 
from  a  distance,  and  even  then  the  geography  of  the 
country  was  such  as  to  hide  from  them  the  distance  to 
which  the  forest  frontiers  were  being  driven.  Lack  of 
transportation  in  inland  Europe  had  given  the  people 
early  warning  of  what  would  eventually  take  place  in  the 
country  as  a  whole.  In  America  the  settlements  were  all 


284  The  Farm  Woodlot 

on  the  coast,  and  innumerable  rivers  of  unheard-of  size 
stretched  far  inland  to  float  the  timber  from  the  interior 
down  to  the  settlements  on  the  coasts. 

Unfortunately  for  the  conservation  interests,  about  the 
time  that  the  depleting  of  the  local  supply  on  the  coast 
might  have  become  apparent,  the  introduction  of  the 
railroad  and  the  improvement  of  inland  waterways  made 
it  possible  to  tap  the  vast  resources  of  the  lake  region  for 
the  benefit  of  the  East.  Thus  the  idea  of  an  inexhaustible 
supply,  —  later  to  prove  so  dangerous,  —  was  given  re- 
newed strength.  And  so  continuous  and  all-sufficient  has 
been  the  supply  poured  into  the  older  and  more  thickly 
settled  sections  from  more  and  more  distant  forests  that 
people  have  been  slow  to  learn  how  nearly  the  "  inexhaust- 
ible forests"  have  been  exhausted. 

The  once  unbroken  forests  of  the  Northeast  are  now, 
with  the  exception  of  certain  parts  of  the  mountainous 
country,  reduced  to  scattered  remnants  of  culled-over 
woodland  incapable  of  supplying  any  considerable  part  of 
the  local  demand.  The  vast  forests  of  Michigan  alone 
were  at  one  time  considered  sufficient  to  supply  the  world 
forever.  Yet  so  rapid  has  been  our  increase  in  population 
and  so  unprecedented  our  development  that  those  forests 
have  been  practically  wiped  out,  and  Michigan  is  already 
out  of  the  race  as  a  timber  producer.  Wisconsin  and 
Minnesota  had  the  same  fate,  and  now  this  whole  great 
nation,  larger  and  more  timber  hungry  than  ever,  has 
only  the  West  and  the  South  to  look  to  for  her  future  sup- 
ply. The  timber  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  is  incon- 
siderable when  it  comes  to  answering  the  demands  of  the 
whole  country  and  the  possibilities  of  the  South  and  West 


History  of  the  Forest  285 

are  definitely  limited.  Yet  the  idea  of  an  inexhaustible 
timber  supply,  ground  into  the  people  for  over  a  century, 
persists.  Washington  shingles  are  sold  in  Boston,  and 
Louisiana  pine  is  common  on  the  Chicago  market,  but  the 
status  of  our  timber  supply  is  not  heeded. 

Some  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ago,  a  few  far-sighted 
men  who  knew  the  history  of  European  countries  began  to 
realize  that  measures  were  necessary  to  prevent  a  real 
timber  famine  in  the  United  States.  Unfortunately  very 
little  was  known  of  the  amount  of  timber  still  standing. 
That  there  was  danger  of  a  timber  famine  was  true  enough, 
but  it  was  very  hard  to  make  the  people  believe  this,  and 
some  wild  predictions  that  later  proved  to  be  very  wide  of 
the  mark  hurt  the  cause. 

Moreover,  these  first  enthusiasts  adopted  the  wrong 
methods.  The  abundance  and  consequent  cheapness  of 
timber  forced  wasteful  methods.  The  quality  of  timber 
cut  in  the  early  days  led  them  to  demand  the  higher  grades 
and  refuse  any  lumber  inferior  to  what  they  had  been 
using.  The  culling  out  of  these  higher  grades  caused 
tremendous  waste.  Only  the  largest  trees  could  be  cut 
and  only  a  small  part  of  those  utilized.  There  was  no 
market  for  the  poorer  stuff.  The  apparent  worthlessness 
of  this  culled  forest  and  the  cheapness  of  timber  generally 
led  to  the  ignoring  of  forest  fires  and  it  became  the  regular 
thing  for  culled  land  to  burn  over,  destroying  the  small 
growth  and  doing  irreparable  damage  to  the  adjoining 
virgin  forest.  The  fires  destroyed  far  more  than  was  uti- 
lized. No  attempt  was  made  to  save  young  timber  or  to 
utilize  more  completely  the  large  trees. 

The  promoters  of  forestry  placed   the  blame  for  this 


286  The  Farm  Woodlot 

waste  on  the  lumbermen,  who  were  really  responsible  to 
only  a  very  small  degree.  The  people  demanded  cheap 
lumber  and  refused  everything  but  the  very  best  quality. 
Such  lumber  as  they  demanded  then  can  hardly  be  bought 
now  at  any  price.  The  lumbermen  had  either  to  furnish 
what  was  wanted  or  go  out  of  business.  The  result  was, 
as  we  have  shown,  a  criminal  waste,  but  the  people  were 
responsible,  and  the  lumbermen  were  only  the  agents, 
practically  forced  to  act  as  they  did.  Under  these  condi- 
tions, it  was  only  human  nature  that  the  lumbermen  should 
resent  being  called  robbers  and  vandals.  Thus  it  was  that 
they  were  turned  against  the  movement  when  their  support 
and  cooperation  was  what  was  most  needed  to  give  it 
stamina. 

As  in  almost  every  new  movement,  the  first  supporters 
to  rally  to  the  cause  were  sentimentalists,  travelers  who 
had  visited  Europe  and  been  caught  by  the  glamour  of  the 
beautiful  orderly  forests  and  the  universal  respect  and 
reverence  for  trees.  It  was  the  sentiment  of  the  thing 
that  attracted  them,  not  the  usefulness.  Naturally  they 
wanted  to  see  this  order  of  things  introduced  into  their  own 
country.  They  knew  nothing  of  the  conditions  here  nor 
of  the  fitness  of  their  schemes,  but  they  insisted  vigorously 
and  vociferously  on  their  adoption.  This  persistent  clam- 
oring, with  the  great  truths  back  of  it,  gained  them  many 
followers.  The  strength  of  the  movement  forced  legisla- 
tion and  some  general  laws  were  passed,  directed  toward 
the  conservation  of  forests.  Little  more  than  this  could 
be  done  because  those  back  of  the  movement  did  not  know 
definitely  what  they  wanted  to  do  nor  how  to  do  it.  The 
timber  interests  that  really  could  have  accomplished  some- 


History  of  the  Forest  287 

thing  if  they  had  been  properly  directed  held  aloof  on 
account  of  the  unreasonable  attacks  upon  them  and  the 
impracticable  nature  of  the  measures  proposed.  Those 
measures,  if  put  into  practice  at  that  time,  would  have 
killed  the  lumber  industry. 

FOREST   SERVICE    IN    THE   UNITED    STATES 

In  1881,  the  government  appointed  a  forester  but  gave 
him  little  authority  and  no  appropriations,  because  it  was 
not  known  definitely  what  his  duties  were  or  what  he  ought 
to  do.  His  work  was  confined  necessarily  to  collecting 
data  and  making  reports  on  forest  condition. 

As  early  as  1799,  Congress  passed  an  act  for  the  pur- 
chase and  protection  of  certain  cedar  and  live  oak  timber 
for  ship  building  for  the  Navy.  This  act  was  confirmed 
and  reenacted  several  times  up  to  1831,  but  nothing  im- 
portant ever  came  of  it.  The  action  was  rather  spasmodic, 
but  it  shows  that  even  at  this  early  date  there  was  some 
apprehension  in  regard  to  the  exhaustion  of  certain  kinds 
of  timber  for  special  purposes  of  importance.  It  perhaps 
had  its  origin  in  the  action  of  England  which  had  long  been 
accustomed  to  reserve  especially  fine  trees  for  this  purpose. 
Nothing  further  was  done  to  encourage  tree  planting  and 
forest  preservation  till  1872  when  J.  Sterling  Morton 
through  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture  inaugurated  Arbor 
Day  in  Nebraska.  Such  a  day  has  since  been  recognized 
by  every  state  in  the  Union.  The  next  year,  1873,  Con- 
gress passed  the  Timber  Culture  Act,  by  which  title  could 
be  obtained  to  160  acres  of  prairie  land  if  40  acres  of  it 
were  planted  to  trees  according  to  certain  specifications. 
This  law  was  well  meant,  but  so  framed  that  its  terms 


288  The  Farm  Woodlot 

were  continually  avoided,  and  it  led  to  a  great  deal  of  fraud. 
Moreover,  the  poorly  handled  plantations  and  excuses 
for  plantations  were  largely  unsuccessful  and  brought 
discredit  upon  prairie  tree-planting  generally. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  marvelous  extension  of  the  rail- 
roads after  the  Civil  War  and  various  acts  of  Congress,  — 
such  as  the  Homestead,  Desert  Land,  and  Timber  and 
Stone  acts,  —  to  encourage  settlement,  hastened  the  de- 
struction of  the  forest  to  an  alarming  degree. 

Emerson  Hough  brought  the  matter  to  the  attention 
of  the  American  Society  for  the  Advancement  of  Science 
and  was  in  1877  appointed  special  agent  by  that  body  to 
make  a  detailed  report  on  forestry.  The  result  of  that 
report  was  the  establishment  of  the  Division  of  Forestry 
in  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  The  office  thus  es- 
tablished gave  forestry  official  recognition,  which  helped, 
but  that  is  about  all  it  accomplished.  The  forester  was 
left  almost  wholly  without  funds  or  support  and  could 
do  little  besides  educational  work  by  means  of  reports. 

The  Timber  Culture  Act  was  the  cause  of  so  much  fraud 
that  it  was  repealed  in  1891  and  with  its  repeal  came  the 
first  big  step  in  advance.  The  same  bill  that  repealed  the 
Timber  Culture  Act  gave  to  the  President  the  right  to 
create  forest  reserves  by  proclamation.  President  Harri- 
son immediately  took  advantage  of  it  to  set  aside  about 
17,000,000  acres  of  forest  reserves.  They  were  under  the 
charge  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  but  lack 
of  funds  made  it  impossible  to  do  anything  with 
them ;  however,  they  were  of  tremendous  importance 
because  they  marked  the  beginning  of  an  almost  contin- 
uous advancement.  These  reservations  were  challenged 


History  of  the  Forest  289 

at  one  time,  were  suspended  for  a  while,  but  they  were 
afterwards  restored. 

The  Division  of  Forestry  for  some  years  attempted  to 
introduce  better  lumbering  methods  and  the  more  con- 
servative use  of  our  forests,  but  they  were  met  on  every 
hand  with  ignorance  and  adverse  economic  conditions. 
The  abundance  of  timber  made  lumber  too  cheap  for  any 
one  to  pay  much  attention  to  the  growing  of  forests,  and 
the  splendid  transportation  facilities  blinded  the  mass  of 
the  people  to  the  rapid  disappearance  of  the  forests.  It 
was  up-hill  work,  but  the  movement  steadily  gathered 
strength.  In  the  meanwhile  a  large  amount  of  valuable 
data  was  collected  on  the  growth,  habits  and  handling  of 
our  trees. 

In  spite  of  all  difficulties,  the  government  work  grew 
rapidly  in  scope  and  volume  as  the  people  became  better 
educated  and  better  acquainted  with  existing  conditions. 
The  Division  of  Forestry  became  a  Bureau,  and  in  1905 
when  the  national  forest  reserves,  then  grown  to  over 
100,000,000  acres,  were  transferred  from  the  control  of  the 
Interior  Department  to  the  Agricultural  Department, 
the  Bureau  grew  to  the  Forest  Service,  an  office  of  the 
same  grade  as  the  Reclamation  Service.  The  work  of 
the  Service  has  since  that  time  been  concentrated  on  the 
development  of  the  reserves. 

There  was  for  several  years  a  great  deal  of  opposition 
to  these  reserves.  The  name  gave  the  impression  that 
the  forests  and  everything  else  in  the  boundaries  were  to  be 
reserved  from  use ;  that  they  were  to  be  kept  as  they  were 
till  some  future  date  and  for  a  future  generation.  That 
was  the  common  idea  of  forestry,  —  the  withholding  from 


290  The  Farm  Woodlot 

use  of  all  available  timber.  Nor  could  people  be  expected  to 
have  any  different  idea  when  the  supporters  of  forestry 
were  everywhere  quoting  " Woodman,  spare  that  tree" 
and  indulging  in  bitter  tirades  against  the  lumbermen  and 
the  cutting  of  timber.  Of  course  such  a  policy  did  not 
appeal  to  practical  men. 

When  the  forest  reserves  were  transferred  to  the  control 
of  the  Forest  Service,  they  were  renamed  National  Forests 
and  every  effort  made  to  show  that  they  were  meant  for 
use,  the  most  complete  use,  and  not  to  be  stored  away  in 
idleness  for  an  indefinite  future.  The  subsequent  handling 
of  these  National  Forests  has  done  much  to  emphasize 
this.  The  free  use  of  the  timber  by  the  small  settler  has 
been  practically  unrestricted  and  the  lumber  companies 
have  been  sold  stumpage  at  reasonable  rates  and  allowed 
to  cut  mature  trees  as  rapidly  as  provision  could  be  made 
for  a  future  crop.  The  restrictions  put  on  the  method  of 
cutting  have  not  been  burdensome.  The  grazing  regula- 
tions, at  first  thought  to  be  prohibitive  and  a  most  unjust 
imposition,  have  been  found  to  be  a  boon  to  the  country 
and  a  most  effective  scheme  for  the  more  complete  utiliza- 
tion of  the  grazing  lands. 

The  sentimental  side  had  played  its  part,  and  that  an 
important  one,  in  forcing  the  attention  of  the  people. 
It  accomplished  this  as  no  other  phase  of  the  question  could 
have  done.  Now,  however,  when  the  first  stage  of  en- 
thusiasm was  over  and  the  work  of  actual  development 
began,  its  memory  remained  as  a  hindrance.  The  scheme 
proposed  by  the  first  sentimentalists  was  so  visionary  that 
the  whole  system  of  forestry  remained  discredited  in  the 
eyes  of  business  men  for  some  years.  Nevertheless, 


History  of  the  Forest  291 

forestry  is  strictly  a  business  proposition.  On  account  of 
the  long  time  element  involved,  it  is  a  business  that  is 
better  handled  by  the  state  or  other  long-lived  corporations, 
but  it  may  also  be  made  a  paying  proposition  for  the  in- 
dividual owner.  It  is  based  on  strictly  business  principles. 
Far  from  keeping  the  virgin  forests  untouched  for  the  use 
of  future  generations  as  the  sentimentalists  proposed,  the 
forester  cuts  his  timber  just  as  soon  as  it  ceases  to  earn 
a  reasonable  percentage  of  profit.  He  cannot  afford  to 
have  land  that  might  be  growing  young  timber  occupied 
by  old  trees  that  have  ceased  to  grow ;  this  is  poor  forestry 
because  it  is  poor  business.  The  only  difference  between 
a  forester  and  a  lumberman  is  that  the  former  never  cuts 
till  he  is  assured  of  a  second  crop  and  a  consequent  higher 
value  of  his  cut-over  land,  and  the  latter  works  for  the 
highest  possible  present  cut  regardless  of  the  future ;  each 
is  working  for  the  highest  money  revenue  from  the  land  as 
he  sees  it. 

The  forester  works  for  a  good  reproduction  before  he 
cuts  his  first  crop,  because  he  does  not  want  the  land  to 
be  idle  for  a  minute.  He  conducts  cultural  methods  to 
increase  the  rate  of  growth  so  that  the  mature  timber  may 
be  secured  sooner  and  his  profits  be  correspondingly  larger. 
He  cuts  carefully  that  there  may  be  less  waste ;  he  selects 
poor  soil  that  his  rent  may  be  low  and  the  profit  high. 
Every  one  of  these  measures  is  governed  by  the  principles 
of  profit  and  loss  ;  none  of  them  by  sentiment.  Whether 
the  forest  be  for  the  production  of  timber,  the  protection 
of  mountain  slopes  or  for  esthetic  purposes,  the  question 
of  profit  is  never  forgotten.  The  financial  outcome  is 
always  considered  as  the  true  basis  and  is  changed  only  as 


292  The  Farm  Woodlot 

much  as  the  chief  purpose  of  protection  or  ornament 
demands. 

The  Forest  Service  is  planning  to  raise  the  most  valuable 
crops  possible  to  be  grown  on  its  true  timberlands,  make 
as  much  money  as  it  can  on  the  protected  slopes  and  at  the 
same  time  get  the  best  protection,  plant  up  the  open  spaces 
that  do  not  furnish  good  grazing,  and  so  regulate  the 
stock  on  the  grazing  land  that  the  highest  possible  number 
of  stock  will  be  accommodated  and  the  quality  of  the 
range  improved ;  all  measures  for  the  very  best  use  of  all 
the  land  that  comes  under  its  jurisdiction.  The  motto 
of  the  forester  is  always  complete  use,  never  useless  reser- 
vation. 

It  is  clear  that  forestry  in  this  country  has  already 
reached  an  advanced  stage  on  the  government  forests  and 
a  complicated  system  is  being  rapidly  built  up.  Techni- 
cally trained  men  are  necessary  for  carrying  out  the  work, 
and  their  training  is  little  less  thorough  than  that  for  other 
professions.  This  book,  however,  does  not  propose  to 
take  up  those  details  that  are  necessary  only  in  the  han- 
dling of  large  tracts  of  forest  land.  Only  those  phases  of 
the  work  that  are  applicable  to  the  farm  woodlot  will  be 
considered  in  a  handbook  for  the  farmer  who  wishes  to 
handle  his  woodlot  to  the  best  advantage. 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  FORESTS  IN  CANADA 

The  development  of  the  forests  in  Canada  has  not 
followed  exactly  the  same  lines  as  in  the  United  States. 
This  is  due  partly  to  the  character  of  the  forests  them- 
selves, partly  to  the  slow  rate  of  settlement  and  partly  to 
the  form  of  government. 


History  of  the  Forest  293 

As  in  the  United  States,  the  forests  in  Canada  are  lo- 
cated on  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  coasts  with  a  broad 
stretch  of  treeless  prairie  in  between.  There  is  one  great 
difference.  In  the  United  States  the  forests  extend  to 
the  northern  boundary ;  in  Canada  there  are  millions  of 
acres  which  lie  within  the  grasp  of  the  frozen  north  beyond 
the  limit  of  merchantable  tree  growth.  Moreover,  this 
great  tundra  region  is  incapable  of  ever  producing  any 
merchantable  forests  and  the  same  is  true  of  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  northern  plains. 

There  is  also  a  great  difference  in  the  composition  of  the 
two  forests.  Owing  to  the  northern  latitude  and  conse- 
quently severe  climate  of  Canada,  the  number  of  species 
in  the  forest  is  much  smaller  than  in  the  more  southern 
country.  Spruce  becomes  the  predominant  genus  in  the 
coniferous  forests  instead  of  pine,  and  the  hardwoods  are 
confined  to  the  less  desirable  species  such  as  birch,  poplar 
and  elm.  The  magnificent  hardwood  forests  of  oak, 
hickory,  yellow  poplar,  walnut  and  buckeye  found  in  the 
southern  Appalachians  and  the  Ohio  valley  are  entirely 
lacking.  Nor  is  the  development  of  the  northern  species 
with  the  single  exception  of  white  spruce  as  good  as  in  the 
South.  On  the  Pacific  coast  the  forests  more  nearly  com- 
pare with  those  of  the  northern  Cascades. 

As  in  the  United  States,  the  first  settlements  along 
the  Atlantic  coast  were  made  in  a  country  of  unbroken 
forest,  and  the  movement  westward  to  the  treeless  prairies 
was  much  slower.  Hudson  Bay  trappers  brought  in  many 
reports  of  the  vastness  of  the  northern  country,  but  failed 
to  give  any  detailed  account  of  the  timber  there.  The 
natural  inference  was  that  the  whole  country  was  timbered 


294  The  Farm  Woodlot 

like  the  Atlantic  coast.  The  result  was  an  almost  un- 
shakable belief  in  the  existence  of  an  inexhaustible  timber 
supply  which  should  suffice  all  Canada's  needs  forever. 
This  impression  spread  to  the  United  States,  and  the  mass 
of  the  people  there  believe  that  they  can  turn  to  Canada 
for  wood  when  their  own  supply  is  exhausted.  This  idea 
of  an  inexhaustible  timber  supply  was  no  less  fatal  to 
the  early  development  of  forestry  in  Canada  than  it  had 
been  in  the  United  States,  and  no  more  easily  dispelled.  It 
stands  out  to-day  as  one  of  the  most  formidable  obstruc- 
tions to  the  settlement  of  an  efficient  forest  policy,  though 
investigations  have  long  ago  proved  its  falsity. 

Estimates  of  the  extent  of  the  merchantable  forests  in 
Canada,  all  based  on  fragmentary  and  insufficient  data, 
vary  widely.  Probably  the  best  guess  is  around  three 
hundred  million  acres.  This  is  only  about  three-fifths  of 
the  area  of  the  merchantable  forests  in  the  United  States, 
and  although  the  export  lumber  trade  has  been  rather 
heavy,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  far  the  larger  part  of  the  re- 
maining supply  will  be  needed  for  the  now  rapidly  growing 
population  of  Canada. 

In  the  earlier  days  the  export  trade  in  lumber  was 
heavier  than  it  is  to-day.  The  concentration  of  the  popu- 
lation on  the  Atlantic  coast,  the  network  of  desirable 
and  navigable  streams  leading  to  the  sea  and  the  close 
relationship  of  Canada  to  the  northern  country,  which 
was  dependent  upon  imports  for  the  whole  wood  supply, 
made  this  almost  inevitable.  The  lack  of  inland  trans- 
portation facilities  made  its  later  decline  quite  as  natural. 
The  development  of  the  transcontinental  railroads  led 
the  settlers  to  the  open  prairies  of  the  West  and  opened 


History  of  the  Forest  295 

up  a  new  and  ever  growing  market  to  consume  the  lumber 
supply  at  home.  Up  to  the  time  when  the  expansion  on  to 
the  prairies  took  place,  and  that  movement  was  compara- 
tively late  in  coming,  the  growth  in  population  had  been 
rather  slow,  and  the  effects  of  the  heavy  logging  along  the 
Atlantic  coast  had  not  been  severely  felt. 

These  conditions  have  served  as  a  disadvantage  to 
Canada,  but  her  close  relations  with  England  have  been 
distinctly  to  her  advantage.  England  had,  even  before 
the  settlement  of  Canada,  long  been  dependent  on  out- 
side sources  for  her  timber  supply.  Her  naval  supremacy 
in  those  days  of  wooden  ships  made  her  especially  anxious 
to  conserve  anything  which  might  serve  as  ship  timbers. 
The  French  had  ordered  reservations  of  such  timber  as 
early  as  1683,  and  when  the  British  occupied  the  country 
they  enlarged  the  reservations.  In  1763  and  1775  reserva- 
tions were  ordered  in  every  township.  These  orders  were 
not  very  strictly  enforced  on  account  of  the  belief  of  the 
" inexhaustible  supply." 

It  was  not  until  1879  that  the  home  government  adopted 
the  policy  of  reserving  to  the  crown  all  the  timberland 
not  already  granted.  But  vast  tracts  of  timber  had  al- 
ready passed  into  the  hands  of  private  individuals.  Under 
the  French,  all  of  the  land  had  originally  belonged  to  the 
king,  who  granted  them  to  others  under  feudal  tenure. 
A  trading  company  controlled  the  whole  country  in  this 
way  up  to  1663,  when  the  failure  of  the  company  termi- 
nated the  relationship.  This  was  followed  by  the  prac- 
tice of  granting  to  individuals,  through  court  favor,  large 
tracts  of  land  as  gifts,  on  condition  that  they  should  be 
regranted  to  colonists.  The  result  of  this  was  to  make  the 


296  The  Farm  Woodlot 

colonists  practically  the  serfs  of  the  original  grantees, 
which  condition  was  terminated  only  in  1854  by  the  home 
government  freeing  the  colonists  through  the  indemni- 
fication of  the  noblemen.  The  land  then  passed  to  the 
colonists.  The  English  continued  the  practice  of  granting 
land  to  soldiers,  to  individuals  and  to  the  Church.  An 
order  to  reserve  every  seventh  section  for  the  support 
of  the  Protestant  Church  was  largely  responsible  for  the 
Papinean  rebellion  in  1837.  The  lands  withdrawn  for 
the  purpose  were  later  sold  and  the  proceeds  turned  over 
to  the  cities  for  educational  purposes.  Other  large  tracts, 
either  through  grant  or  sale,  have  passed  into  private 
hands,  and  numberless  small  tracts  have  been  turned  over 
to  the  settlers  in  the  same  way.  Fifty  million  acres  were 
granted  to  the  railroads  as  an  aid  to  their  construction. 

Thus  in  one  way  or  another  the  larger  part  of  the  land 
in  the  eastern  provinces  passed  out  of  the  control  of  the 
government.  These  conditions  are,  however,  reversed 
in  the  western  provinces,  and  in  the  Dominion  as  a  whole 
the  larger  part  of  the  forest  lands  still  belong  to  the 
crown,  some  eight  million  acres.  Of  this  enormous  area 
about  sixty  per  cent  contains  scrubby  timber  fit  only  for 
local  use. 

In  1826  the  government  adopted  the  policy  of  allowing 
any  one  who  would  pay  a  fixed  stumpage  fee  to  cut  timber 
from  the  crown  land.  A  surveyor-general  of  woods  and 
forests  was  appointed  to  collect  the  revenues.  This  was 
the  first  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  state  to  secure  any 
revenues  from  its  forests.  This  plan  was  defeated  because 
the  lumbermen  found  it  cheaper  to  buy  the  land  on  con- 
tract, cut  the  timber  and  forfeit  the  land  together  with 


History  of  the  Forest  297 

the  first  payment.  This  practice,  the  subversion  of  gov- 
ernment timber  contracts,  led  to  a  tangle  of  graft  and  cor- 
ruption. 

In  1841,  as  the  result  of  an  investigation  of  these  condi- 
tions, the  home  government  turned  over  the  administra- 
tion of  the  crown  lands  to  the  different  provinces.  A 
more  active  control  followed,  but  the  efforts  were  all  di- 
rected toward  a  larger  immediate  revenue,  and  no  effort 
was  made  to  perpetuate  the  supply.  Timber  limits  were 
sold  on  competition  bids,  the  successful  bidder  securing 
the  exclusive  right  to  cut  in  a  certain  definite  tract  and 
paying  so  much  additional  for  the  timber  actually  cut. 
Many  of  these  limits  were  held  as  a  speculation.  To  pre- 
vent this,  laws  were  passed  insisting  upon  the  cutting 
of  a  certain  percentage  of  the  holdings  each  year.  A 
tremendous  overproduction  arid  consequent  fall  in  the 
market  was  the  inevitable  result.  All  the  laws  tended  to 
force  increased  cuts  in  order  to  bring  in  larger  revenues. 

Out  of  this  chaos  the  present  systems  for  the  sale  of 
timber  on  the  crown  lands  have  been  slowly  developed. 
They  are  all  of  the  same  general  character,  but  vary  in 
the  details  of  their  application  in  the  different  provinces. 
Certain  definite  limits  are  granted  for  a  certain  term  of 
years,  usually  twenty-one  years.  During  this  period, 
definite  regulations  in  regard  to  cutting  and  manufacture 
must  be  observed,  and  the  holder  must  pay  a  ground  rent, 
a  fee  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  limit  and  additional  fees 
for  all  timber  cut.  The  stipulated  prices  and  regulations 
can  be  changed  from  time  to  time  as  conditions  demand. 
An  attempt  is  made  to  enforce  conservative  methods. 

As  in  the  United  States,  a  few  far-sighted  men,  notable 


298  The  Farm  Woodlot 

Sir  Henry  Joly  de  Lotbiniere,  had  begun  early  to  agitate 
the  question  of  introducing  forestry  methods  and  estab- 
lishing forestry  branches  in  the  official  administration,  but 
they  could  not  get  a  hearing.  The  belief  in  the  inexhausti- 
ble timber  supply  was  against  them.  It  was,  however, 
their  efforts  which  made  possible  the  progressive  move- 
ment following  the  meeting  of  the  American  Forestry 
Congress  at  Montreal  in  1882.  At  this  meeting  the  fire 
problem  formed  the  chief  subject  of  discussion,  and  as  a 
result  of  it,  various  forest  fire  laws  were  passed  in  the 
different  provinces.  Ontario  led  in  this  movement.  In 
1885  their  laws  were  strengthened  by  the  initiation  of  a 
ranger  system  in  which  the  limit  holders  paid  one-half 
the  cost  of  the  rangers,  thus  giving  the  lessees  a  direct 
interest  in  the  protection  of  the  forest.  The  benefits  of 
this  system  were  so  marked  that  it  was  soon  copied  in  Nova 
Scotia,  New  Brunswick  and  Quebec.  Even  the  Dominion 
government  followed  suit. 

The  influence  of  these  protective  systems  were  very 
plainly  felt  and  a  very  active  interest  aroused  in  the  wel- 
fare of  the  forests.  They  began  to  take  their  place  among 
the  valuable  resources  of  the  country.  Ontario  established 
a  bureau  of  forestry  in  1883,  but  allowed  it  to  degenerate 
into  an  immigration  office  in  1907.  Quebec  placed  its 
work  on  a  more  permanent  basis  by  placing  it  in  the  hands 
of  technically  trained  men,  who  supervised  the  cutting  on 
leased  lands.  This  work  was  a  success.  In  1898  a  forestry 
branch  was  instituted  in  the  Dominion  Department  of  the 
Interior  and  a  Superintendent  of  Forestry  was  appointed. 

As  in  the  United  States,  these  officers  at  first  accom- 
plished nothing,  but  they  gradually  came  to  practical 


History  of  the  Forest  299 

work.  Their  most  important  work  for  the  first  few  years 
was  to  keep  the  needs  of  forestry  before  the  people.  This 
they  did  very  successfully,  and  out  of  it  came  the  policy 
of  permanent  forest  reserves.  The  first  reservations 
were  made  by  the  Dominion  Minister  of  the  Interior 
in  1895,  in  the  Riding  and  Turtle  Mountains,  a  thinly 
timbered  district  of  Manitoba.  Several  others  were 
added  in  the  same  way,  and  in  1906  they  were  confirmed 
by  Act  of  Parliament  and  placed  under  the  Superintendent 
of  Forestry.  Some  ten  or  twelve  million  acres  have  been 
set  aside  in  this  way,  but  the  Forestry  Branch  has  never 
been  given  funds  adequately  to  handle  them. 

Ontario  followed  suit  with  reservations  of  some  twelve 
million  acres,  and  Quebec  has  followed  the  same  policy 
on  a  less  extensive  scale.  British  Columbia  had  wasted 
a  large  portion  of  her  forest  area,  but  in  1909  reserved  the 
remainder  and  started  the  movement  which  resulted  in  a 
very  active  forestry  branch  a  few  years  later. 

It  is  only  in  the  past  two  or  three  years  that  much  at- 
tention has  been  paid  to  the  management  of  these  areas 
along  forestry  lines,  but  the  movement  is  now  progressing 
rapidly.  The  various  provinces,  especially  British  Co- 
lumbia, are  forging  ahead,  and  the  Dominion  Service  is 
developing  rapidly. 

In  addition  to  this  work  of  the  Provinces  and  Dominion 
government,  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  has  inaugu- 
rated a  very  active  forest  policy  and  now  employs  more 
foresters  than  any  other  institution  except  the  United 
States  government.  Several  of  the  large  paper  companies 
are  also  practicing  conservative  lumbering  and  employ- 
ing foresters. 


300  The  Farm  Woodlot 

The  Dominion  Branch  has  established  a  large  experi- 
ment station  on  the  prairies  and  has  done  a  great  deal, 
by  the  distribution  of  free  nursery  stock,  toward  the 
planting  up  of  those  sections.  This  work  has  been  a  de- 
cided success. 

In  1900  the  Canadian  Forestry  Association  was  formed 
and  has  done  much  toward  backing  up  the  government 
departments.  It  has  been  of  great  value  in  interesting 
the  people  and  lumbermen  in  the  work  of  the  Forestry 
Branch.  Since  1905  they  have  been  publishing  the  Cana- 
dian Forestry  Journal  as  a  means  of  educating  the  people. 

In  1907  the  University  of  Toronto  established  a  Faculty 
of  Forestry  with  the  equipment  necessary  for  a  complete 
course  of  instruction.  In  1908  New  Brunswick  also  es- 
tablished a  department  of  forestry  in  the  University. 
The  Agricultural  College  at  Guelph  has  for  some  years 
been  offering  a  course  in  farm  forestry. 

As  may  be  seen  from  the  foregoing,  the  progress  toward 
the  application  of  forestry  in  the  Canadian  forests  has 
been  very  slow  and  dotted  with  many  setbacks,  but  the 
prospect  at  present  is,  on  the  whole,  promising.  The 
political  interference  in  the  management  of  the  forests  — 
which  has  been  the  great  obstacle  in  the  past  —  is  gradu- 
ally disappearing,  and  this,  together  with  the  rapidly 
increasing  timber  supply,  is  awakening  the  people  and  the 
government  to  the  necessity  of  a  permanent  and  construc- 
tive policy.  Such  a  policy  adopted  and  the  means  fur- 
nished to  put  it  into  practice,  it  is  not  too  late  for  Canada 
to  grow  her  own  supply  indefinitely.  There  is  plenty  of 
available  productive  land. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
FOREST  INFLUENCES 

OPINION  is  very  likely  to  go  to  extremes  in  everything, 
but  more  especially  is  this  true  when  there  is  very  little 
definite  knowledge  of  the  facts,  and  the  imagination  has 
full  play.  The  influence  of  forests  on  the  natural  phe- 
nomena within  and  around  them  offers  a  splendidly  vague 
field  for  all  kinds  of  fanciful  theories. 

At  first  no  one  thought  of  any  such  influence.  There 
was  nothing  to  bring  it  forcibly  to  the  attention,  and  what 
little  was  read  of  it  in  foreign  books  was  taken  for  useless 
theories  of  the  detail-loving  Germans.  Moreover,  the  con- 
ditions were  not  diversified  enough  to  offer  different  view- 
points. Every  place  was  covered  with  woods  and  plenty 
of  it.  There  had  been  no  experience  with  the  open  prairies, 
or  with  cut-over  mountain  slopes.  When  the  develop- 
ment of  the  country  pushed  civilization  out  over  the  plains, 
and  the  great  commercial  rivers  of  the  East  became  spas- 
modic in  their  flow  with  the  clearing  of  the  timber  from 
the  mountains,  people  began  to  read  on  these  subjects  in 
the  histories  of  other  countries.  The  newspapers  took 
the  cue  with  a  will,  the  possible  results  of  deforestation 
in  this  country  were  carried  to  the  limit  of  the  imagination, 
and  the  theory  of  forest  influence  grew  apace  in  the  public 
mind.  Naturally,  public  opinion  has  gone  to  the  other 
extreme  and  it  now  attributes  to  the  forest  many  ridicu- 
lously impossible  powers,  but  there  is,  nevertheless,  a 

301 


302  The  Farm  Woodlot 

leaven  of  truth  in  it  all,  and  the  present  beliefs,  wild  as 
they  seem,  are  nearer  the  facts  than  no  belief  at  all. 

INFLUENCE    ON   PRECIPITATION 

The  most  generally  mooted  question  of  to-day  is  whether 
the  forest  is  the  direct  cause  of  greater  rainfall,  whether 
the  precipitation  is  greater  in  the  forest  than  in  the  open 
country;  and  if  so,  how  much  greater.  Belief  in  such 
influence  is  used  as  an  argument  in  favor  of  planting  trees, 
and  has  considerable  weight  with  many.  In  spite  of  its 
prominent  place  in  the  public  mind,  this  is  probably  the 
least  important  of  the  forest  influences.  Competent 
scientific  men  have  been  studying  this  question  in  Euro- 
pean countries  for  a  century  or  more,  where  there  are  vast 
forests  of  very  dense  growth,  but  they  have  not  as  yet 
been  able  to  decide  definitely  whether  that  particular  in- 
fluence exists  or  not.  If,  then,  this  influence,  increase  in 
rainfall,  is  so  small  as  to  be  imperceptible  in  the  case  of  an 
extensive  and  dense  forest,  it  certainly  need  not  interfere 
With  our  calculations  in  the  consideration  of  a  small  plan- 
tation of  a  few  acres.  This  factor  may  be  wholly  disre- 
garded in  all  farm  forestry.  A  forest,  then,  does  not  in- 
fluence the  amount  of  precipitation,  but  it  does  have  an 
important  influence  on  the  disposal  of  the  precipitation. 
This,  in  fact,  is  one  of  the  most  important  effects  of  forest 
cover.  It  directly  controls  the  permanent  flow  of  springs 
and  streams. 

INFLUENCE   ON   RUN-OFF.      Fig.  60 

The  influence  of  forest  cover  on  surface  run-off  was  noted 
long  ago  in  other  countries  and  has  been  forced  upon  the 


Forest  Influences 


303 


attention  in  this  coun- 
try by  the  cutting  of 
the  timber  in  the 
mountainous  regions. 
The  best  examples  of 
the  results  of  deforest- 
ation are  now  to  be 
found  in  China,  but 
the  records  of  the  pro- 
cess are  not  to  be  se- 
cured.  The  more 
recent  denudation  of 
the  mountains  in 
France,  though  not  so 
complete  as  that  in 
China,  is  more  to  the 
point,  because  all  the 
records  of  the  process 
from  the  densely 
wooded  mountain 
sides  to  the  bare  hills, 
and  even  the  attempts 
at  reforestation  are 
complete.  . 

Rainfall  is  not  dis- 
tributed  evenly 
throughout  the  year. 
There  are  seasons  of 
heavy  precipitation, 
and  seasons  of  mpre  or 
less  severe  drought. 


304  The  Farm  Woodlot 

When  the  surface  of  the  earth  is  bare  uncovered  rock  or 
impervious  soil,  the  rainfall  runs  off  in  unobstructed  streams 
as  it  falls.  The  result  is  a  heavy  flood,  varying  in  strength 
with  the  character  of  the  country  and  the  size  of  the  drain- 
age basin,  for  a  short  time  after  the  precipitation  and  then 
a  dry  stream  bed.  This  is  true  of  the  conditions  existing 
in  a  very  large  part  of  China  and  the  Mediterranean  coun- 
tries, as  well  as  in  considerable  areas  of  the  United  States. 

These  conditions  are  not  at  all  adapted  to  man's  wants. 
His  business  and  even  his  life  is  dependent  upon  an  even 
supply  of  water  in  the  rivers  and  springs,  and  this  even 
supply  can  best  be  secured  by  keeping  the  natural  water- 
sheds under  forest.  History  and  theory  agree  that  this 
will  accomplish  the  purpose.  Attempts  have  been  made 
in  the  United  States  to  find  two  water-sheds,  near  together, 
of  practically  the  same  area,  one  forested  and  one  bare,  — • 
to  compare  the  run-off  of  the  water  in  the  two.  It  was 
very  difficult  to  find  two  water-sheds  which  exactly  cor- 
responded to  the  requirements,  but  sufficient  data  has 
been  secured  to  establish  the  following  facts : 

The  force  of  the  falling  raindrops  is  so  broken  by  the 
network  of  limbs  and  branches  that  the  ground  is  not 
beaten  hard  as  is  the  case  in  the  open.  The  soil  remains 
light  and  permeable;  the  organic  litter  from  the  trees 
mingled  with  the  surface  soil  helps  to  keep  it  so.  The 
water  dripping  lightly  from  the  branches  or  sliding  down 
the  trunks  of  the  trees  sinks  readily  into  this  permeable 
soil,  instead  of  running  quickly  over  the  surface  as  is  the 
case  on  rock  or  packed  clay.  Not  until  the  soil  has  be- 
come wet  to  the  point  of  saturation  does  any  moisture 
run  from  it  to  the  stream  bed,  which  means  that  an 


Forest  Influences  305 

unusually  heavy  and  long-continued  rain  is  necessary  to 
cause  a  flood  in  a  stream  whose  water-shed  is  well  forested. 
This  water  that  soaks  into  the  ground  gradually  seeps 
to  lower  levels  and  finally  emerges  from  the  springs  to 
maintain  the  normal  stream  flow.  Naturally  a  moderate 
rise  in  the  streams  occurs  after  a  prolonged  period  of 
heavy  rainfall,  but  such  a  rise  can  do  little  or  no  damage, 
and,  as  we  have  seen,  a  sudden  and  destructive  flood  is 
impossible. 

The  snow  is  disposed  of  by  the  forest  in  the  same  way 
as  the  rain.  The  crown  cover  shuts  out  the  rays  of  the 
sun  and  prevents  the  snow  from  coming  under  the  heat  of 
direct  insolation.  It  is  late  in  the  season  in  the  mountain 
regions  when  the  temperature  in  the  shade  rises  sufficiently 
to  melt  the  snow  for  any  length  of  time  during  the  day. 
Thus  the  run-off  from  the  forested  mountains  is  practically 
none  when  the  snow  is  melting  rapidly  in  the  early  spring 
in  the  open  and  in  the  lowlands.  The  water  supply  from 
this  region  is  kept  stored  up  in  the  ground  and  in  springs 
as  a  reserve  that  keeps  the  streams  flowing  through  the 
dry  months  when  other  sources  are  exhausted.  Observa- 
tion of  two  streams  in  California,  one  with  a  bare  water- 
shed and  the  other  with  water-shed  well  forested,  has 
proved  this  almost  conclusively.  The  streams  were 
well  located  in  a  region  in  which  there  was  a  distinct  rainy 
season  followed  by  absolute  drought.  The  bare  water- 
shed sent  down  its  waters  immediately  after  the  rain  in 
torrential  floods  carrying  away  everything  movable 
along  the  banks  and  making  any  use  of  the  water  impos- 
sible. Shortly  after  the  close  of  the  rainy  season,  the 
volume  of  the  stream  began  to  decrease  rapidly  and  in  two 


306  The  Farm  Woodlot 

months  the  stream  bed  was  dry.  The  forested  water- 
shed, on  the  other  hand,  absorbed  the  rainfall  in  the  way 
described  above,  and,  though  there  was  high  water  in  the 
creek  during  the  rainy  season,  there  was  no  flood  to  injure 
improvements  along  the  banks.  At  the  close  of  the  rainy 
season,  there  was  very  little  decrease  in  the  volume  of 
stream  flow  and  a  fair  amount  of  water  flowed  in  the 
stream  bed  throughout  the  dry  season,  when  water  is 
most  needed  and  most  valuable  for  irrigation  purposes. 

Perhaps  as  much  water  comes  down  from  the  bare  water- 
shed in  the  course  of  a  year  as  from  the  forested  one ; 
in  fact,  probably  considerably  more  water  comes  from  the 
former,  for  there  are  several  factors  that  tend  to  dissipate 
a  part  of  the  water  that  falls  on  the  forested  shed.  A 
part  of  the  water  —  the  lighter  the  rain  the  larger  the 
percentage  —  is  intercepted  by  the  crowns  of  the  trees  and 
evaporates  before  it  reaches  the  ground  at  all.  It  is  also 
a  well-known  fact  that  more  moisture  evaporates,  through 
the  transpiration  of  the  leaves,  over  an  area  covered  with 
vegetation  than  from  a  bare  surface.  Also,  in  the  forest 
the  water  is  held  in  the  ground  so  much  longer  than  in  the 
open  that  there  is  more  opportunity  for  evaporation  in 
that  way.  Thus,  the  actual  amount  of  water  in  the  forest- 
born  stream  in  the  course  of  a  year  is  really  less  than  in 
those  coming  from  the  bare  country;  but  seventy-five 
per  cent  of  the  latter  is  lost  in  flood,  is  of  no  value  for  irri- 
gation purposes  or  water  power  and  does  much  damage 
to  improvements  along  its  banks,  while  all  the  former  can 
be  utilized  all  the  year  round  and  there  is  no  damage  to 
adjacent  property. 

Since  the  cutting  of  the  forests  at  the  headwaters  of 


Forest  Influences  307 

many  of  our  rivers,  disastrous  spring  floods  have  developed 
in  these  streams  that  do  a  tremendous  amount  of  damage 
both  to  shore  property  and  to  navigation.  Later  in  the 
summer  the  water  in  these  same  streams  reaches  such  a 
low  level  that  navigation  is  again  impeded  and  water 
power  seriously  disabled.  The  floods,  formerly  unknown, 
that  have  of  recent  years  become  of  annual  occurrence  in 
the  southern  Appalachian  mountains  are  said  to  damage 
improved  property  alone  to  the  extent  of  ten  million 
dollars  annually.  The  spring  flood  and  consequent  sum- 
mer drought  in  the  Allegheny  and  Monongahela  rivers 
above  Pittsburgh,  besides  the  enormous  damage  done  in 
that  city  and  in  the  Ohio  valley,  greatly  impair  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Ohio  River  for  five  months.  Floods  in  the 
spring  make  navigation  dangerous,  and  in  the  summer 
there  is  not  sufficient  water  for  the  larger  boats  to  get  into 
the  upper  stream.  If  the  water  that  now  flows  down  the 
Ohio  in  a  year  were  evenly  distributed  throughout  the 
seasons,  the  now  coveted  nine-foot  level  would  be  main- 
tained the  year  round  at  Pittsburgh  and  the  navigation 
of  the  river  would  be  perfectly  safe  for  the  largest  boats  at 
all  times. 

All  these  flood  and  drought  phenomena  are  now  proved, 
as  far  as  such  a  thing  can  be  proved,  and  generally  ad- 
mitted to  be  the  result  of  the  removal  of  the  forests  from 
the  water-sheds.  Moreover,  as  has  been  proved  by  many 
observations  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  springs  are  affected 
in  the  same  way  as  the  rivers.  There  were  very  many  ex- 
amples of  this  in  India.  As  the  forests  were  cleared  away, 
the  flow  of  the  springs  became  less  and  less  each  dry  season 
until  it  was  finally  as  dry  as  the  remainder  of  the  country. 


308 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


EROSION.      FIG.  61 

We  have  seen  how  the  forest  cover  prevents  rapid 
surface  run-off,  conserves  the  rainfall  and  consequently 
regulates  the  flow  of  the  streams.  What  happens  when 


FIG.  61.  —  Land  badly  eroded  as  result  of  clearing  and  cultivation. 

the  forest  is  cut  away  ?  The  removal  of  the  shade  opens 
up  the  ground  to  the  direct  insolation  and  more  open 
circulation  of  the  wind.  The  humus  and  leaf  mold 
which  was  kept  always  moist  in  the  sheltered  shade  of 
the  forest  is  now  exposed  to  alternate  wetting  and  drying. 
Under  these  conditions  it  decays  very  rapidly,  all  its  vege- 
table structure  disappears,  the  leaves  and  twigs  are  re- 
duced to  fine  mineral  particles  and  the  bare  soil  is  exposed 
to  the  driving  wind  and  rain.  There  is  no  longer  any 


Forest  Influences  309 

spongy  blanket  to  absorb  the  water  as  it  falls  and  there 
is  an  immediate  surface  flow  toward  the  lower  valleys. 
This  flow  gathers  volume  and  velocity  as  it  goes  and 
finally  joins  the  torrential  streams  in  the  valley  in  a  very 
short  time  after  the  rain  has  fallen.  This  is  the  beginning 
of  the  flood  which  probably  does  great  damage  in  the 
valley  on  the  lower  stretches  of  the  river,  where  millions 
have  been  invested  in  bridges,  quays  and  other  improve- 
ments. 

The  exposed  mineral  soil,  heretofore  protected  and  mixed 
with  the  humus,  is,  upon  the  disappearance  of  the  humus, 
a  loose  mass  of  mineral  particles.  A  drop  of  water  rolling 
over  this  surface  carries  the  lightest  of  the  mineral  par- 
ticles with  it  in  suspension.  As  these  individual  drops 
join  and  the  stream  gains  in  volume  and  velocity,  larger 
particles  are  carried  along  with  it,  until  the  great  mountain 
torrent  rolls  huge  bowlders  down  its  worn  bed.  The  first 
little  trickle  of  water  makes  an  almost  imperceptible 
track  in  the  soft  earth;  the  water  from  the  next  rain 
naturally  follows  the  track  of  the  first,  and  the  track 
grows  deeper.  The  deeper  the  cut,  the  larger  the  stream 
of  water  collected  in  it ;  the  larger  the  stream  of  water, 
the  greater  its  carrying  capacity;  and  so  erosion  pro- 
ceeds apace. 

First  the  humus  —  and  with  it  the  fertility  of  the  soil  — 
is  carried  away ;  then  the  surface  soil  follows,  leaving  the 
subsoil  exposed  in  great  gullies ;  finally  nothing  but  rock 
and  hard  packed  gravel  remain.  This  process  occurs  in 
every  hillside  forest  that  is  cut  over  and  abandoned. 
There  are  millions  of  acres  of  cut-over  land  in  the  hilly 
parts  of  the  United  States  now  in  various  stages  of  erosion. 


310  The  Farm  Woodlot 

Some  are  just  losing  the  humus  from  the  surface  soil, 
some  are  in  the  last  stages  of  rock  and  gravel.  The  rapidity 
of  the  erosion  depends  largely  on  the  nature  of  the  soil. 
The  clay  soils  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  foothills  of  the 
southern  Appalachian  mountains  lend  themselves  readily 
to  this  process  and  become  lost  to  cultivation  by  this 
means  in  a  few  years.  The  farmer  has  robbed  himself 
of  millions  of  acres  of  valuable  woodland  in  attempting 
to  bring  under  cultivation  mountain  land  not  suited  to 
that  purpose;  and  it  now  lies  worse  than  a  worthless 
waste. 

In  France,  when  the  government  of  the  Republic  ordered 
the  cutting  of  the  forests  that  had  been  conserved  for 
years  under  the  rule  of  the  monarchy,  thousands  of  square 
miles  on  the  steep  slopes  of  the  Alps  were  eroded  to  a  barren 
waste  in  just  this  way.  The  ground  became  so  gullied 
and  so  completely  robbed  of  all  its  fertility  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  establish  any  growth  on  it  by  ordinary  means. 
Everything  was  washed  out  of  the  ground  as  soon  as 
planted.  Hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  have  been 
spent,  and  hundreds  more  must  yet  be  spent  in  the 
future  in  the  building  of  dams  and  the  digging  of  ditches 
to  hold  the  floods  till  vegetation  of  some  kind  has  secured 
a  foothold. 

Sections  of  Greece,  a  large  part  of  Asia  Minor,  Arabia, 
Palestine  and  all  northern  Africa  and  nearly  all  of 
China  have  come  to  their  present  desert  condition  from 
former  fertility  and  luxurious  vegetation  through  just 
such  process  of  erosion.  It  is  bound  to  come  to  us  if  we 
persist  in  clearing  the  forests  from  the  hillsides.  Nor  is 
the  damage  from  erosion  confined  to  the  hillside  districts. 


Forest  Influences  311 

The  detritus  washed  from  the  lands  above  is  deposited 
on  the  fertile  lands  in  the  valleys  below.  Thousands  of 
families  were  driven  from  their  homes  in  the  most  fertile 
valleys  of  France  along  the  foothills  of  the  Alps  because 
two  and  three  feet  of  sterile  debris  from  the  mountains 
were  spread  over  their  fields.  In  our  own  country  the 
floods  in  the  Missouri  and  Mississippi  rivers  have  many 
times  buried  the  overflowed  lands  along  their  banks  with 
many  feet  of  sand  that  absolutely  destroys  the  value 
of  the  lands  for  several  years  to  come.  This  is  taking 
place  along  all  our  foothill  streams  and  rivers. 

When  this  sand  and  debris  is  not  deposited  on  the  over- 
flow lands,  it  is  deposited  in  the  stream  bed  or  along  the 
coast  near  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Hundreds  of  miles  of 
rivers  in  the  United  States  have  been  lost  to  navigation 
in  this  way,  and  the  government  has  spent  millions  and 
millions  of  dollars  in  keeping  others  open.  The  govern- 
ment experts  estimate  that  one  billion  cubic  feet  of  debris 
are  carried  to  the  sea  by  the  streams  annually.  It  is  the 
heaviest  tax  that  the  farmer  has  to  pay  and  most  of  it 
comes  from  areas  from  which  the  forests  should  never 
have  been  cut. 

This  sediment  carried  by  the  streams  does  the  greatest 
amount  of  damage  in  the  irrigated  districts.  Here  vast 
reservoirs  are  constructed  at  enormous  expense,  and  to 
make  the  work  economical  these  structures  must  last  a 
long  time.  If  the  forests  are  cut  away  from  the  drainage 
basins  of  the  streams  that  feed  these  reservoirs  and  erosion 
sets  in,  these  expensive  reservoirs  are  filled  in  a  few 
years  and  their  value  destroyed.  Not  only  is  the  reservoir 
destroyed,  but  the  natural  reservoir  site  —  probably  the 


312  The  Farm  Woodlot 

only  one  in  the  region — is  destroyed  and  irrigation  in  a 
larger  part  of  that  district  is  rendered  impossible.  While 
this  silting  up  of  the  reservoir  is  going  on,  the  fine  particles 
not  deposited  in  the  basin  are  carried  down  the  ditches 
and  spread  over  the  fertile  fields,  dulling  their  productive 
capacity. 

These  are  the  results  of  cutting  forests  as  expressed  in 
the  terms  of  erosion.  A  well-placed  forest  prevents  these 
results. 

LESSENING   OF   EVAPORATION 

Distribution  of  stream  flow  and  the  prevention  of  erosion 
are  not,  however,  the  only  influences  that  the  forests 
exercise  over  the  surrounding  country.  They  lessen 
evaporation,  which  is  a  very  active  agent  in  drawing  the 
moisture  from  the  soil.  T.  Russell,  Jr.,  of  the  United 
States  Signal  Service,  made  some  experiments  in  1888 
to  learn  the  amount  of  evaporation  on  the  western  plains. 
During  the  year  this  evaporation  amounted  to  50-80  and, 
in  some  spots,  even  to  100  inches,  while  the  rainfall  over 
this  area  is  30-12  inches  and  less.  "Thus  in  Denver, 
where  the  maximum  annual  precipitation  may  reach  20 
inches,  the  evaporation  during  one  year  was  69  inches. 
This  deficiency  of  49  inches  naturally  must  be  supplied 
by  waters  coming  from  the  mountains,  where  the  precipi- 
tation is  large  and  the  evaporation  low.  (On  Pike's 
Peak  alone  there  may  be  45.6  minus  26.8  or  18.8  inches 
to  spare.)" 

To  understand  better  the  application  of  this,  we  must 
examine  the  most  important  factors  determining  the 
amount  of  evaporation.  The  first  of  these  factors  to  be 
considered  is  the  soil  cover.  In  experiments  made  in  Ger- 


Forest  Influences  313 

many  during  the  months  of  July  and  August,  1883,  to  deter- 
mine the  amount  of  evaporation  from  different  soils,  it  was 
found  that  from  1000  square  centimeters  of  bare  ground 
5730  grams  of  water  were  evaporated,  and  that  from 
the  same  area  of  similar  soil  covered  with  two  inches  of 
straw  575  grams  were  evaporated.  This  shows  that  the 
naked  soil  evaporated  more  than  ten  times  as  much  as 
the  covered  soil.  It  is  evident,  then,  that  the  soil  covering 
has  an  important  function  in  preventing  evaporation. 

The  forest  cover  acts  in  the  same  way.  If  the  loss  by 
evaporation  from  an  open  field  be  compared  with  that 
of  a  forest-covered  ground,  as  a  matter  of  course  it  will  be 
less  in  the  latter  case,  for  the  shade  not  only  reduces  the 
influence  of  the  sun  upon  the  soil,  but  also  keeps  the  air 
under  its  cover  relatively  moist,  therefore  less  capable 
of  absorbing  moisture  from  the  soil  by  evaporation. 
Moreover,  the  forest  cover  above,  which  intercepts  the 
direct  rays  of  the  sun  and  shades  the  ground,  also  assures 
us  that  the  ground  will  be  covered  with  a  layer  of  dead 
branches,  leaves,  twigs  and  the  like. 

The  next  point  to  be  considered  is  the  effect  of  wind 
velocity  on  evaporation.  The  evaporation  under  the 
influence  of  the  wind  is  dependent  not  only  on  the  tem- 
perature and  dryness  of  the  wind,  but  also  on  its  velocity, 
which  being  impeded,  the  rate  of  evaporation  is  reduced. 
T.  Russell,  Jr.,  experimented  on  this  subject  in  1887. 
His  experiments  were  made  with  Riche's  hygrometers 
whirled  around  on  an  arm  28  feet  in  length,  the  results  of 
which  were  compared  with  those  from  a  tin  dish  containing 
40  cubic  centimeters  of  water  exposed  under  shelter. 
The  results  show  that,  with  the  temperature  of  the  air  at 


314 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


84°  and  a  relative  humidity  of  50  per  cent,  evaporation 
at  5  miles  an  hour  was  2.2  times  greater  than  in  a  calm ; 
at  10  miles,  3.8;  at  15  miles,  4.9;  at  20  miles,  5.7;  at 
25  miles,  6.1 ;  and  at  30  miles  the  wind  would  evaporate 


FIG.  62.  —  The  results  of  wind  erosion  in  the  bad  lands. 

6.3  times  as  much  water  as  a  calm  atmosphere  of  the 
same  temperature  and  humidity. 

When  we  consider  that  the  average  velocity  of  the  winds 
that  constantly  sweep  the  western  arid  and  subarid  plains 
is  from  10  to  15  miles,  not  rarely  attaining  a  maximum  of 
50  and  more  miles,  the  cause  of  the  aridity  is  not  far  to 
seek. 


Forest  Influences  315 

In  Switzerland  the  change  of  temperature  from  the 
normal,  experienced  under  the  influence  of  the  Foeher, 
or  warm  wind,  has  been  noted  as  28°  to  31°  F.;  and  a  re- 
duction in  relative  humidity  of  58  per  cent.  A  Foeher 
of  twelve  hours'  duration  has  been  known  to  "eat  up" 
entirely  a  snow  cover  of  two  and  one-half  feet.  In  Denver, 
a  Chinook  has  been  known  to  induce  a  rise  in  temperature 
of  57°  F.  in  twenty-four  hours  (of  which  36°  in  five  minutes), 
while  the  relative  humidity  sank  from  100  to  21  per  cent. 

Anything  that  lessens  the  velocity  of  the  wind  lessens 
evaporation  :  hence  the  influence  of  the  forest.  Any  one 
who  has  been  in  the  heart  of  a  dense  forest  knows  that  the 
severest  wind  is  not  felt  there.  This  is  because  the  trees 
impede  the  velocity  of  the  wind,  and  consequently  evapora- 
tion in  the  forest  is  less.  As  one  approaches  the  windward 
side  of  the  forest,  one  feels  the  wind  more  and  more. 
This  shows  that  the  degree  of  influence  that  the  forest 
exerts  on  the  wind  is  in  direct  proportion  to  the  size  and 
density  of  the  forest.  But  even  the  narrow  windbreaks 
and  shelter  belts  exert  a  very  appreciable  influence. 

King  has  found  in  experiments  made  in  Wisconsin  that 
the  influence  of  even  a  thin  stand  of  woodland  on  the  rate 
of  evaporation  was  considerable.  In  one  experiment  made 
in  the  month  of  May,  the  instruments  were  so  placed  as 
to  measure  the  evaporation  to  the  leeward  of  a  scant 
hedgerow  6  to  8  feet  high,  containing  a  few  trees  12 
feet  high  and  many  open  gaps.  It  was  found  that 
at  300  feet  from  the  hedge  the  evaporation  was  30.1  per 
cent  greater  than  at  20  feet,  and  at  150  feet  it  was  7.2 
per  cent  less  than  at  300  feet.  The  experiment  was  made 
during  a  moist  north  wind.  It  is  sufficiently  evident, 


316  The  Farm  Woodlot 

therefore,  that  even  a  thin  hedgerow  exerts  an  influence 
that  .can  readily  be  measured.  In  fact,  the  presence  or 
absence  of  protecting  belts  of  trees  under  the  conditions 
often  existing  on  the  prairies  may  make  a  difference  be- 
tween a  good  and  a  poor  crop.  All  who  are  acquainted 
with  our  prairie  regions  know  that  great  damage  is  often 
done  to  wheat,  corn  and  other  crops  by  the  hot  southwest 
winds  which  are  likely  to  occur  in  the  growing  months. 
In  Kansas  and  Nebraska  in  the  summer  of  1894,  im- 
mense tracts  of  corn,  fully  tasseled  out,  were  killed  by 
such  winds.  At  the  same  time  it  was  noticed  that  when 
corn  was  protected  by  trees  or  slopes  of  land,  or  when  the 
humidity  of  the  wind  was  increased  by  passing  over 
bodies  of  water  or  clover  fields,  the  injury  was  greatly 
lessened.  King  found  that  an  oak  grove  12  to  15  feet 
high  exerted  an  appreciable  effect  in  a  gentle  breeze  at  a 
distance  of  300  feet. 

The  records  show  that  in  southwestern  Minnesota  in  the 
dry  years  of  1910-11  many  of  the  grain  fields  were  com- 
pletely burned  up  with  the  exception  of  a  narrow  strip 
north  of  the  windbreaks.  The  yield  from  these  strips  was 
sufficient  to  furnish  seed  grain  for  the  whole  farm,  and  in 
one  season  the  windbreaks  more  than  paid  rent  on  the 
land  they  had  occupied  throughout  their  existence. 

At  the  Dominion  Experiment  Station  in  Assiniboia, 
Saunders  found  on  one  occasion  that  windbreaks  exerted 
an  appreciable  influence  at  50  to«  80  feet  to  leeward  for 
every  foot  in  height,  but  this  was  during  a  very  severe 
wind.  The  greater  the  velocity  of  the  wind,  the  farther 
the  influence  of  the  windbreak  is  felt.  It  probably  may 
be  laid  down  as  a  general  rule  that  windbreaks  will  exert 


Forest  Influences  317 

an  appreciable  influence  for  at  least  one  rod  for  every 
foot  in  height. 

It  may  not  be  necessary  to  state  that  the  damage  done 
to  crops  by  the  cold,  dry  winter  winds  is  mainly  due  to 
rapid  evaporation,  and  that  plants  are  liable  to  suffer 
as  much  by  winter  drought  as  by  summer  drought. 
This  is  certain,  that  since  summer  and  winter  drought, 
that  is,  rapid  evaporation  due  to  continuous  dry  winds, 
is  the  bane  of  the  farmer  on  the  plains,  rationally  disposed 
timber  belts  will  do  much  to  increase  available  water 
supply  by  reducing  evaporation. 

The  exact  difference  in  the  rate  of  evaporation  in  the 
forest  and  in  the  open  country  from  all  causes  is  not  known 
in  this  country,  but  experiments  in  Bavaria  show  the 
rate  in  the  open  field  to  be  six  and  one  half  times  that  in  a 
deciduous  forest.  In  this  connection  we  must  consider 
the  hot  winds  that  so  often  cause  injury  to  farm  crops 
in  Kansas,  Nebraska  and  the  Dakotas.  These  are  often 
ascribed  to  the  " staked"  plains,  whence,  taking  a  north- 
easterly direction,  they  draw  all  the  moisture  from  the 
vegetation  with  which  they  come  in  contact.  The  view 
has  also  been  presented  that  they  have  their  origin  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  ascend  the  Rocky  Mountains,  lose  their 
moisture  and  descend  on  the  eastern  slopes.  But  all 
theories  that  ascribe  their  origin  to  a  distant  source  are 
inadequate  to  explain  their  phenomena.  For  example, 
all  who  are  acquainted  with  these  winds  know  that  they 
blow  only  during  very  dry  weather,  when  the  earth  is 
heated  very  hot,  that  a  good  rain  speedily  brings  them 
to  an  end,  and  that  they  blow  only  during  the  day  time, 
commencing  about  9  A.M.  and  continuing  until  sundown. 


318  The  Farm  Woodlot 

This  daily  movement  is  often  constant  for  several  weeks, 
showing  that  there  is  evidently  some  connection  between 
them  and  the  course  of  the  sun.  For  these  reasons,  and 
others,  the  best  authorities  unite  in  attributing  them  to 
local  origin. 

George  C.  Curtiss  describes  the  process  of  the  production 
of  a  typical  hot  wind  as  follows:  "The  necessary  con- 
ditions are  those  of  the  'warm wave/  namely,  a  diminishing 
pressure  to  the  northward,  producing  southerly  winds 
which  initially  elevate  the  temperature  above  the  normal. 
A  cloudless  sky  favors  an  intense  insolation,  as  a  result 
of  which  the  dry  ground  is  soon  raised  to  an  extreme 
temperature,  and  the  air  is  heated  from  it  by  radiation, 
reflection  and  conduction.  The  resulting  diminution  of 
density  due  to  the  rise  of  temperature  furnishes  impetus 
to  previously  existing  horizontal  currents,  and  by  10 
o'clock  in  the  morning  the  hot  wind  is  fully  developed. 
Hundreds  of  miles  of  hot  dry  earth  contribute  to  maintain 
and  feed  the  current,  and  gathering  strength  as  the  sun 
mounts  higher,  the  hot  wind  sweeps  over  the  defenceless 
prairie.  Neither  hills  nor  forests  rise  in  its  path  to  break 
its  power  or  dispute  its  sway,  and  with  no  enemy  save  the 
tardy  rain  cloud,  the  fetid  blast  sucks  out  the  life  sap  of 
the  growing  grain.  It  will  be  readily  seen  then  that  each 
of  the  states,  Kansas,  Nebraska  and  North  and  South 
Dakota,  develops  its  own  hot  winds  and  cannot  charge 
them  to  the  account  of  its  neighbors." 

Since,  then,  these  hot  winds  are  of  such  origin,  it  is 
clear  that  windbreaks  at  frequent  intervals  on  the  prairie 
farms  would  prevent  their  formation.  The  increased 
humidity  of  the  air  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the 


Forest  Influences  319 

windbreak  and  the  physical  obstacle  presented  would 
counterbalance  the  superheating  of  the  intervening 
space.  These  same  groves  and  shelter  belts  that  prevent 
evaporation  and  drying  winds  also  perform  several 
other  important  functions.  They  prevent  the  drifting 
of  the  sand  and  snow.  This  property  of  shelter  belts 
has  been  almost  completely  ignored  in  this  country  but 
has  been  recognized  in  Europe  for  many  years.  In  France, 
plantations  have  been  used  to  check  and  successfully  keep 
in  place  the  enormous  sand  dunes  which  were  and  in  some 
places  still  are,  traveling  inland  from  the  coast.  The  root 
systems  help  to  hold  the  sand  in  place  and  the  upper  parts 
of  the  tree  reduce  the  force  of  the  wind.  On  the  steppes 
of  Russia,  where  the  tremendous  sweep  of  the  wind  lays 
bare  the  winter  crops  over  large  areas,  and  piles  the  snow  in 
great  drifts  where  it  is  not  wanted,  low  windbreaks  have 
been  used  very  effectively  to  keep  the  snow  in  place. 
It  will  not  be  long  before  such  simple  and  natural  devices 
will  take  the  place  of  the  expensive  snow  breaks  now  built 
by  the  railroads. 

Neither  sand  nor  snow  drifts  in  the  forest  and  we  should 
learn  our  lesson  from  nature.  Moreover,  the  absence  of 
strong  winds  in  the  interior  of  a  forest  makes  it  appear 
very  probable  that  the  planting  of  breaks  and  groves  at 
short  intervals  would  prevent  the  formation  of  tornadoes  on 
the  opeii  prairie,  —7  for  these  violent  windstorms  soon  lose 
their  force  when  they  enter  the  forest. 

Another  factor  of  forest  influence  well  worth  noticing 
is  the  improvement  of  the  soil  on  which  trees  grow.  Large 
amounts  of  soluble  mineral  salts  are  added  to  the  surface 
soil  by  the  falling  of  leaves  and  small  twigs,  which  decay 


320  The  Farm  Woodlot 

and  give  up  their  mineral  content.  This  mineral  matter  is 
either  taken  from  the  air  by  the  leaves  themselves  or  drawn 
up  from  the  ground  by  the  roots.  The  roots  of  the  trees 
pierce  to  the  subsoil  and  bring  up  mineral  foods  that  the 
roots  of  smaller  plants  would  never  reach.  In  the  same 
way  large  amounts  of  humus  are  added  to  the  soil  and  keep 
it  porous  and  retentive  of  moisture  and  gases.  The  roots 
by  their  decay  also  open  up  the  subsoil  and  let  in  air  and 
moisture.  In  this  way  the  surface  soil  is  being  continually 
improved.  It  has  been  estimated  that  after  a  sandy  soil 
in  New  England  is  so  exhausted  that  it  will  produce  no 
other  crop,  it  may  be  renewed  to  its  original  fertility  and 
productiveness  by  the  growth  of  trees  on  it  for  thirty  years. 
This  should  always  be  kept  in  mind  in  locating  the  woodlot 
and  in  calculating  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  it. 


CHAPTER  XV 
TABLES  AND   RULES 

RELATIVE  HARDNESS  OF  WOODS 

TAKING  shell  bark  as  the  highest  standard  of  our  forest 
trees,  and  calling  that  100,  other  trees  will  compare  as 
follows  (Scribner's  Lumber  and  Log  Book)  : 

Shell  Bark  Hickory      .......  100 

Pignut  Hickory  .     .     . 96 

White  Oak     ..........  84 

White  Ash      ..........  77 

Dogwood        ..........  75 

Scrub  Oak      . 73 

White  Hazel .  72 

Apple  Tree     ..........  70 

Red  Oak .  60 

White  Beech .     .    '.  65 

Black  Walnut 65 

Black  Birch    .     .     .     . 62 

Yellow  Oak .  60 

White  Elm     ..........  58 

Hard  Maple 56 

Red  Cedar 56 

Wild  Cherry 55 

Yellow  Pine 54 

Chestnut 52 

Yellow  Poplar 51 

Butternut 43 

White  Birch 43 

White  Pine 30 

Y  321 


322 


The  Farm  Woodloi 


TABLE    OF    TREES    ARRANGED    IN    ORDER    OF   FUEL   VALUE 
AND    WEIGHT    OF    DRY   WOOD  1 

(Green's  Forestry  in  Minnesota) 


NAMES 


APPROXIMATE 

RELATIVE  FUEL 

VALUE 


SPECIFIC  GRAVITY 

OF  ABSOLUTELY 

DRY  WOOD 


Shellbark  Hickory 83.11 

Hop  Hornbeam 82.43 

Juneberry 77.95 

Bitternut  Hickory 74.74 

White  Oak 74.39 

Bur  Oak 74.06 

Locust 72.96 

Hackberry 72.08 

Blue  Beech 72.26 

Cork  Elm 72.20 

Green  Ash 70.71 

Scarlet  Oak 70.82 

Slippery  Elm 68.98 

Kentucky  Coffee  Tree      .     .     .  68.88 

Sugar  Maple 68.75 

Norway  Maple 

Honey  Locust    ......  66.86 

Red  Oak 66.04 

Yellow  Birch 65.34 

White  Ash 65.16 

White  Elm 64.54 

European  White  Birch     .     .     . 

Black  Ash 62.72 

Tamarack 62.16 

Red  Ash 61.99 

Red  Maple 61.65 

Black  Walnut  60.91 


0.8372 
.8284 
.7838 
.7552 
.7470 
.7453 
.7333 
.7287 
.7286 
.7263 
.7117 
.7095 
.6956 
.6934 
.6916 
.6800* 
.6740 
.6621 
.6553 
.6543 
.6506 
.6400* 
.6318 
.6318 
.6215 
.6178 
.6115 


1  In  this  table  the  figures  relating  to  North  American  species  have  been 
taken  directly  from  or  calculated  from  data  in  Sargent's '"Silva  of  North 
America"  and  the  report  of  the  tenth  census,  and  those  relating  to  Euro- 
pean species  are  from  various  European  sources. 

*  Air  dried. 


Tables  and  Ruks  323 

TABLE  OF  TREES  —  Continued 


NAMES 


APPROXIMATE 

RELATIVE  FUEL 

VALUE 


SPECIFIC  GRAVITY 

OF  ABSOLUTELY 

DRY  WOOD 


Canoe  Birch 59.40 

Red  Mulberry 58.56 

Wild  Black  Cherry      ....  58.14 

River  Birch 57.42 

Austrian  Pine 

Silver  Maple 52.52 

Scotch  Pine 

Douglas  Spruce 51.53 

Wild  Red  Cherry    .....  50.03 

Red  Juniper        49.11 

Red  Pine 48.41 

White  Poplar 

Jack  Pine 47.50 

Bull  Pine 46.99 

Norway  Spruce 

Largetooth  Poplar 46.11 

Speckled  Alder 45.88 

Black  Spruce 45.71 

Ohio  Buckeye 45.03 

Basswood 45.00 

Chestnut        44.95 

White  Willow 

Black  Poplar 

Boxelder 42.82 

Hemlock 42.20 

Hardy  Catalpa 41.48 

Balm  of  Gilead 41.42 

Butternut 40.66 

White  Spruce 40.38 

Aspen  , 40.10 

Cottonwood 38.52 

White  Pine 38.47 

Balsam  Fir 38.02 

Blue  Spruce 37.26 

White  Fir 36.07 

Balsam  Poplar 36.11 

Arborvitae                .....  31.53 


.5955 

.5898 

.5822 

.5762 

.5700* 

.5269 

.5200* 

.5157 

.5023 

.4926 

.4854 

.4800* 

.4761 

.4715 

.4700* 

.4632 

.4607 

.4584 

.4542 

.4525 

.4504 

.4500* 

.4500* 

.4358 

.4239 

.4165 

.4161 

.4086 

.4051 

.4032 

.3889 

.3854 

.3819 

.3740 

.3638 

.3635 

.3164 


324 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


WEIGHTS   OF   CORDWOOD 
(Scribner's  Lumber  and  Log  Book) 


LB. 

CARBON 

1  Cord  of  Hickory  

4468 

100 

Hard  Maple     

2864 

58 

Beech. 

3234 

64 

Ash     

3449 

79 

Birch  

2368 

49 

Pitch  Pine 

1903 

43 

Canada  Pine     

1870 

42 

Yellow  Oak      

2920 

61 

White  Oak  . 

1870 

81 

Red  Oak      

3255 

70 

Lombardy  Poplar      .     .     . 

1775 

41 

LAND    MEASURE 

10  Rods  by  16  Rods  1  Acre 

8  Rods  by  20  Rods  1  Acre 

5  Rods  by  32  Rods  1  Acre 

4  Rods  by  40  Rods  1  Acre 

5  Yards  by  968  Yards  1  Acre 
10  Yards  by  484  Yards  1  Acre 
20  Yards  by  242  Yards  1  Acre 
20  Yards  by  121  Yards  1  Acre 

220  Feet  by  198     Feet  1  Acre 

110  Feet  by  396     Feet  1  Acre 

60  Feet  by  726     Feet  1  Acre 

120  Feet  by  363     Feet  1  Acre 

300  Feet  by  145.2  Feet  1  Acre 

400  Feet  by  108.9  Feet  1  Acre 


Tables  and  Rules  325 

WEIGHT   PER    1000    FEET   OF   SEASONED    LUMBER 
KIND  LB.  KIND  LB. 

Ash 3550     Poplar 3056 

Cedar 2925     Willow 2780 

Cypress 3350     Locust 3800 

Beech 4000  Norway  Spruce    .     .     .  2760 

Cherry 3720     Hemlock 2350 

Birch 2950     Hickory 3960 

Dogwood 3930     Walnut 3690 

Elm 3220     Pitch  Pine 4150 

Butternut 1960     Red  Pine 3075 

Chestnut 3170  Yellow  Pine     ....  2890 

Maple 4000     White  Pine 2880 

Oak 3675 

WELL-SEASONED    FUEL 
(Scribner's  Lumber  and  Log  Book) 

"The  best  time  to  cut,  haul  and  prepare  wood  for  fuel 
is  in  the  comparative  leisure  of  the  winter,  and  where 
wood  is  used  for  fuel  it  should  be  thoroughly  dried,  as 
in  its  green  and  ordinary  state  it  contains  25  %  of  water ; 
the  heat  to  evaporate  which  is  necessarily  lost ;  therefore, 
the  burning  of  green  wood  is  greatly  wasteful. 

"A  log  of  unseasoned  wood  weighing,  say  100  Ibs.,  will 
weigh,  when  dry,  only  66  Ibs.  What  now  has  it  lost? 
any  combustible  matter?  anything  that  will  warm  your 
house  or  cook  your  food  ?  No  !  it  has  lost  34  Ibs.  of  water. 
If  about  one-third  the  weight  of  green  wood  is  water,  then 
there  are  1443  Ibs.  of  water  in  a  cord.  This  has  to  be  made 
into  steam  before  the  wood  can  be  burned.  By  drying  the 
wood  most  of  the  water  is  expelled  and  there  is  little  loss  of 
heat  in  the  drying  as  it  burns.  Now,  it  costs  about 
$2.00  to  work  up  a  cord  of  wood  for  the  stove  after  it  is 


326  The  Farm  Woodlot 

hauled  to  the  wood  pile,  and  it  makes  a  difference  that 
anyone  can  calculate,  whether  a  cord  of  wood  burned 
green  lasts  20  days,  or  burned  dry  lasts  30  days.  A  solid 
foot  of  green  elm  wood  weighs  60  to  65  Ibs.,  of  which  30  to 
35  Ibs.  is  sap  or  water.  Beech  wood  loses  one-eighth  to 
one-fifth  its  weight  in  drying;  oak,  one-quarter  to  two- 
fifths.  Therefore,  get  the  winter's  wood  for  fuel  or  kin- 
dlings and  let  it  be  seasoned  as  soon  as  possible,  and  not 
have  a  daily  tussle  with  sissling  firebrands  and  soggy  wood." 

CORDWOOD    ON   AN   ACRE 
(Scribner's  Lumber  and  Log  Book) 

"  To  estimate  the  quantity  of  cord  wood  on  an  acre  of 
woodland  requires  experience.  A  person  who  has  been 
engaged  in  clearing  land  and  cutting  wood  could  give  a 
very  close  estimate  at  a  general  glance,  but  other  persons 
would  make  the  wildest  guesses.  An  inexperienced  per- 
son may  proceed  as  follows  :  measure  out  four  square  rods 
of  ground  ;  that  is,  33  feet  each  way,  and  count  the  trees, 
averaging  the  cubic  contents  as  nearly  as  possible  of  the 
trunks,  and  adding  one-fourth  of  this  for  the  limbs.  Then, 
as  128  cubic  feet  make  a  cord,  and  the  plot  is  one-fortieth  of 
an  acre,  the  result  is  easily  reached. 

"  Fairly  good  timber  land  should  yield  a  cord  to  every 
four  square  rods.  A  tree  two  feet  in  diameter  and  30  feet 
high  to  the  limbs,  will  make  a  cord  of  wood  if  it  is  growing 
in  close  timber,  and  the  limbs  are  not  heavy.  If  the  limbs 
are  large  and  spreading,  such  a  tree  will  make  1J  to  1J 
cords.  A  tree  one  foot  in  diameter  will  make  one-fourth 
as  much  as  one  twice  the  diameter.  In  estimating  it  is 
necessary  to  remember  this  fact. 


Tables  and  Rules  327 

"  The  estimates  given  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
in  different  states  are  as  follows,  according  to  the  '  Maine 
Farmer ' : 

"  Several  counties  in  Maine,  30  to  40  cords  per  acre.  In  New 
Hampshire,  average  yield  20  to  40  cords  per  acre.  In  Vermont, 
the  forest  yields  25  to  50  cords  per  acre.  In  Rhode  Island, 
about  30  cords  per  acre.  In  Connecticut,  sprout  land  yields 
about  25  cords  per  acre  every  25  years.  In  New  York,  30  to 
60  cords  per  acre.  In  Delaware,  well-set  second-growth  wood 
lands  yield  30  to  40  cords  per  acre.  In  Maryland,  30  to  40  cords. 
In  Oregon,  however,  the  yield  of  the  evergreens  and  oaks  is  per- 
fectly astounding,  some  counties  estimated  as  high  as  300  to  600 
cords  per  acre." 

SHAPE    OF   THE    AXE 
(Scribner's  Lumber  and  Log  Book) 

"  The  form  of  the  edge  of  a  chopping-axe  should  be  de- 
termined by  the  purpose  for  which  that  tool  is  intended. 
When  an  axe  is  to  be  employed  more  for  scoring  timber 
than  for  chopping  firewood,  the  form  of  the  cutting  edge 
should  be  nearly  straight  from  one  corner  of  the  bit  to  the 
other,  with  the  very  corners  rounded  off  so  that  the  axe 
will  not  stick  badly  in  the  timber.  The  object  of  having 
the  axe  nearly  straight  on  the  cutting  edge  is  to  enable 
the  chopper  to  score  fully  up  to  the  line  without  hacking 
the  timber  beyond  the  line.  When  the  bit  of  the  axe 
is  what  choppers  term  very  circular,  it  is  unfit  to  score 
timber  with,  as  the  most  prominent  part  of  the  cutting 
edge  will  hack  the  surface  of  the  timber  a  half  inch  or  more 
beyond  the  line.  But  by  scoring  with  an  axe  that  has 
nearly  a  straight  edge,  but  few  hacks  may  be  seen  after 
the  timber  has  been  hewed.  A  good  chopping-axe  should 


328 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


be  rounded  on  the  cutting  edge  and  weigh  from  3J  to  5 
pounds  (some  prefer  lighter,  others  heavier),  well  hung  on 
a  tough,  springy  handle." 

RED  OAK 
(Graves'  Mensuration) 

Maximum  Growth  Trees  in  a  Sprout  Stand.      (Based  on  the 
measurement  of  53  trees  near  New  Haven,  Conn.) 


AGE,  YEARS 

DIAMETER  BREASTHIGH,  OUTSIDE  BARK, 
INCHES 

HEIGHT,  FEET 

20 

3.5 

36 

30 

5.4 

47 

40 

7.3 

57 

50 

8.8 

65 

60 

10.4 

70 

70 

11.2 

PITCH    PINE    IN    PIKE    COUNTY,    PENNSYLVANIA 
(Graves'  Mensuration) 

Rate  of  growth  in  diameter 


AGE 

DIAMETER 

DIAMETER  INSIDE  THE  BARK 

YEARS 

HIGH, 

INCHES 

1'  High, 
Inches 

11'  High, 
Inches 

21'  High, 
Inches 

31'  High, 
Inches 

41'  High, 
Inches 

51'  High, 
Inches 

10 

2.7 

2.1 

20 

4.6 

4.0 

0.6 

30 

6.4 

5.8 

2.7 

0.8 

40 

8.0 

7.4 

4.6 

2.7 

0.2 

50 

9.4 

8.8 

6.2 

4.3 

2.0 

60 

10.5 

9.9 

7.4 

5.6 

3.6 

0.7 

70 

11.2 

10.6 

8.4 

6.7 

4.9 

2.5 

80 

11.6 

11.0 

9.1 

7.7 

6.0 

3.7 

06 

90 

11.9 

11.3 

9.6 

8.3 

6.8 

4.8 

2.0 

100 

12.1 

11.5 

10.0 

9.2 

7.4 

5.7 

3.2 

Tables  and  Rules 


329 


Rate  of  growth  in  volume 


FUEL-WOOD                                              LUMBER 

AGE, 
YEARS 

WHOLE  TREES                    One-log 

T*«  ^     "D~««J 

Two-log 

TVnoa     RrtarrJ 

Three-log 

Cu.  Ft. 

Cords 

Feet 

i  rees,  -DOa.ru. 
Feet 

Trees,  i3o<ircl 
Feet 

40 

6.5 

0.073 

50 

10.6 

.119 

20.0 

29.7 

60 

13.4 

.161 

24.3              36.9 

47.2 

70 

16.3 

.182 

28.0 

42.9 

53.8 

80 

17.7 

.198 

30.5 

47.1 

58.4 

90 

18.8 

.210 

32.3              50.3 

61.9 

100 

19.6 

.219 

33.8 

52.6 

64.4 

RATE  OF  GROWTH  OF  CHESTNUT 

(Graves'  Mensuration) 

(From  the  measurement  of  68  trees  in  Connecticut.) 
A.     Dominant  trees  in  the  forest 


AGE, 

DIAMETER 
ON  STUMP 

DIAMETER 
BREAST- 

DIAMETER 
AT  10  FT. 

ABOVE 

DIAMETER 
AT  20  FT. 

ABOVE 

DIAMETER 
AT  30  FT. 

ABOVE 

DIAMETER 
AT  35  FT. 

ABOVE 

YEARS 

INSIDE 

BARK, 
INCHES 

HIGH  OUT- 
SIDE BARK, 
INCHES 

STUMP,  IN- 
SIDE BARK, 
INCHES 

STUMP,  IN- 
SIDE BARK, 
INCHES 

STUMP,  IN- 
SIDE BARK, 
INCHES 

STUMP,  IN- 
SIDE BARK, 
INCHES 

10 

2.1 

2.1 

1.35 

0.3 

20 

5.4 

5.1 

4.3              3.4 

0.9 

30 

8.7 

7.8 

6.9 

6.1 

3.7 

2.9 

40 

11.45 

9.7 

8.9 

8.0 

5.8 

5.0 

50 

13.7 

11.3 

10.6 

9.5 

7.25 

6.5 

60 

12.5 

11.9 

10.7 

8.55 

7.8 

B.     Trees  in  the  open 


10 

3.0 

3.0 

2.2 

20 

7.8 

7.4 

5.9 

4.5 

2.5 

30 

13.2 

11.5 

9.8 

8.0 

6.0 

40 

18.5 

15.3 

13.2 

11.0 

7.9 

50 

23.4 

18.5 

15.9 

13.4 

11.2 

330 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


RATE  OF  GROWTH  OF  RED  CEDAR 

(Graves'  Mensuration) 

(Based  on  the  measurement  of  23  trees  n^ar  New  Haven,  Conn.) 
A .    Trees  in  the  open 


AGE, 

YEARS 

DIAMETER  INSIDE 
BARK  ON  STUMP, 
INCHES 

DIAMETER  INSIDE 
BARK  AT  6  Ft. 
ABOVE  STUMP, 
INCHES 

DIAMETER  INSIDE 
BARK  AT  12  FT. 
ABOVE  STUMP, 
INCHES 

DIAMETER    IN- 
SIDE BARK  AT 
18  FT.  ABOVE 
STUMP,  INCHES 

30 
40 
50 

5.5 

6.8 
7.8 

4.0 
5.1 
5.9 

2.3 
3.5 
4.5 

1.6 
2.6 
3.6 

B.   Crowded  trees,  but  not  overtopped 


30 

4.8 

3.7 

2.3 

1.3 

40 

5.9 

5.0 

3.3    . 

2.1 

50 

6.8 

6.0 

4.1 

2.6 

60 

7.4 

6.6 

4.6 

2.8 

C.    Trees  free  in  youth,  but  later  on  overtopped 


40 

4.4 

3.7 

2.7 

1.4 

50 

5.1 

4.5 

3.4 

2i2 

60 

5.5 

4.8 

3.7 

3.0 

COMPARATIVE  RATE  OF  GROWTH  IN  HEIGHT  AND  DIAMETER 
OF    CHESTNUT    FROM   THE    SEED   AND    COPPICE 

(From  the  measurement  of  1245  trees  in  Maryland) 


AGE, 

HEIGHT 

GROWTH  EACH  TEN 
YEARS,  HEIGHT 

ANNUAL  GROWTH  EACH 
TEN  YEARS 

YEARS 

Trees  from 
Seed,  Feet 

Coppice, 
Feet 

Trees  from 
Seed,  Feet 

Coppice, 
Feet 

Trees  from 
Seed,  Feet 

Coppice, 
Feet 

10 

7 

23 

7 

23 

0.7 

2.3 

20 

17 

42 

10 

19 

1.0 

1.9 

30 

33 

57 

16 

15 

1.6 

1.5 

40 

52 

69 

19 

12 

1.9 

1.2 

50 

64 

77 

12 

8 

1.2 

.8 

60 

73 

83 

9 

6 

.9 

.6 

70 

80 

87 

7 

4 

.7 

.4 

80 

84 

90 

4 

3 

.4 

.3 

90 

88 

92 

4 

2 

.4 

.2 

100 

91 

93 

3 

1 

.3 

.1 

110 

93 

94 

2 

1 

.2 

.1 

120 

95 

95 

2 

1 

.2 

1 

Tables  and  Rules 


331 


COMPARATIVE  RATE  —  Continued 1 


DIAMETER  BREAST- 

GROWTH  EACH  TEN 

ANNUAL  GROWTH  EACH 

HIGH 

YEARS 

TEN  YEARS 

AGK 

YEARS 

Trees  from 
Seed, 
Inches 

Coppice, 

Inches 

Trees  from 
Seed, 
Inches 

Coppice, 
Inches 

Trees  from 
Seed, 
Inches 

Coppice, 
Inches 

10 

0.8 

3.8 

0.8 

3.8 

0.1 

0.4 

20 

3.4 

6.8 

2.6 

3.0 

.3 

.3 

30 

6.0 

9.3 

2.6 

2.5 

.3 

.3 

40 

8.7 

11.4 

2.7 

2.1 

.3 

.2 

50 

11.2 

13.4 

2.5 

2.0 

.3 

.2 

60 

13.4 

15.1 

2.2 

1.7 

.2 

.2 

70 

15.4 

16.7 

2.0 

1.6 

.2 

.  2 

80 

17.2 

18.0 

1.8 

1.3 

2 

.1 

90 

18.8 

19.2 

1.6 

1.2 

'.2 

.1 

100 

20.1 

19.8 

1.3 

.6 

.1 

.1 

110 

21.0 

20.4 

.9 

.6 

.1 

.1 

120 

21.6 

20.8 

.6 

.4 

.1 

.1 

NORMAL    YIELD    TABLE    FOR    SCOTH    PINE. 
(Graves'  Mensuration) 


QUALITY   V 


AGE, 
YEARS 

NUMBER  OF 
TREES  PER 
ACRE 

BASAL 
AREA, 
SQ.  FT. 

AVERAGE 
HEIGHT, 
FEET 

DIAMETER 
OF  AVER- 
AGE TREE, 
INCHES 

YIELD 

PER 

ACRE, 
Cu.  FT. 

YIELD  PER 
ACRE  OF 
THINNINGS, 
Cu.  FT. 

FOREST 
FORM 
FACTOR 

10 

2.3 

20 

6.6 

30 

3200 

57.9 

14.8 

1.9 

186 

.225 

40 

2256 

81.2 

21.0 

2.6 

586 

57 

.349 

50 

ir,ss 

93.3 

25.9 

3.3 

1058 

86 

.455 

60 

1152 

100.2 

30.2 

4.0 

1429 

86 

.485 

70 

828 

104.1 

34.1 

4.8 

1743 

86 

.492 

80 

640 

106.3 

38.0 

5.5 

1986 

71 

.486 

90 

520 

107.6 

41.3 

6.1 

2158 

57 

.479 

100 

428 

108.4 

44.3 

6.8 

2287 

57 

.472 

"Chestnut  in  Southern  Maryland,"  by  R.  Zon,  Bull.  No.  53, 
U.  S.  Forest  Service. 


332 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


YIELD    OF    FULLY    STOCKED    STANDS   OF   SECOND-GROWTH 
WHITE    PINE  l 


AGE  OF  STAND, 
YEAKS 

AVERAGE 
HEIGHT,  FEET 

TOTAL  TREES 
PER  ACRE 

MERCHANTABLE 
TREES  PER  ACRE 

YIELD  PER 
ACRE,  CORDS 

10 

5 

2220 

15 

9 

1700 

20 

14 

1600 

25 

22 

1310 

400 

11 

30 

32 

1090 

510 

21 

35 

45 

885 

620 

30 

40 

54 

690 

540 

38 

45 

62 

510 

460 

45 

50 

68 

400 

380 

53 

55 

72 

300 

300 

65 

60 

76 

260 

260 

80 

NORMAL    YIELD    TABLE    FOR  SPRUCE    QUALITY  III 

(Graves'  Mensuration) 


AGE, 
YEARS 

NUMBER 
OF  TREES 
PER  ACRE 

BASAL 
AREA, 
SQ.  FT. 

AVERAGE 
HEIGHT, 
FEET 

DIAMETER 
OF  AVER- 
AGE TREE, 
INCHES 

YIELD 

PER 

ACRE, 
Cu.  FT. 

YIELD  PER 
ACRE  OF 
THINNINGS, 
Cu.  FT. 

FOREST 
FORM 
FACTOR 

10 

3.6 

20 

61.3 

10.2 

30 

3300 

102.3 

19.4 

2.4 

672 

.331 

40 

1924 

140.8 

30.2 

3.7 

2115 

29 

.495 

50 

1216 

162.4 

42.0 

4.9 

3673 

129 

.534 

60 

840 

178.9 

52.2 

6.2 

5059 

229 

.539 

70 

628 

189.2 

61.0 

7.4 

6274 

243 

.539 

80 

500 

200.0 

68.9 

8.5 

7317 

229 

.534 

90 

424 

209.5 

73.6 

9.5 

8217 

200 

.528 

100 

380 

217.7 

78.4 

10.2 

8960 

186 

.522 

110 

346 

224.2 

82.0 

10.9 

9632 

171 

.520 

120 

320 

229.8 

84.6 

11.8 

10232 

143 

.520 

!From  "The  Natural  Replacement  of  White  Pine  on  Old  Fields  in 
New  England,"  by  S.  N.  Spring,  Bull.  No.  63,  U.  S.  Forest  Service,  1905. 


Tables  and  Rules 


333 


VOLUME   TABLE   FOR  RED   OAK 

(Graves'  Mensuration) 
(Based  on  130  trees  measured  at  New  Haven,  Conn.) 


DIAMETER 
BREASTHIGH, 
INCHES 

HEIGHT  OF  TREE  IN  FEET 

23 

25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

55 

5 

1.23 

1.61 

1.91 

2.24 

2.55 

2.91 

3.12 

3.40 

6 

1.78 

2.31 

2.83 

3.31 

3.77 

4.22 

4.61 

5.04 

7 
8 

3.79 

4.88 

4.40 
5.75 

5.08 
6.56 

5.68 
7.31 

6.25 
7.99 

6.79 

8.75 

9 

8.31 

9.27 

10.13 

10.97 

10 

12.62 

13.64 

11 

15.70 

16.87 

td* 

HEIGHT  OF  TREE  IN  FEET 

g  5  w 

60 

65 

70 

75 

80 

85 

90 

M  Hj2 

1 

wfi 

MERCHANTABLE  CORDWOOD  IN  CUBIC  FEET 

5 

3.66 

6 

5.45 

5.81 

6.16 

7 

7.32 

7.81 

8.31 

8.78 

9.27 

8 

9.43 

10.07 

10.70 

11.31 

11.93 

9 

11.76 

12.62 

13.31 

14.04 

14.75 

10 

14.63 

15.62 

16.52 

17.42 

18.30 

19.20 

11 

18.04 

19.16 

20.18 

21.17 

22.15 

23.12 

24.06 

12 

12.33 

23.62 

24.90 

26.04 

27.15 

28.16 

29.14 

13 

27.33 

28.85 

30.34 

31.62 

32.98 

34.21 

35.40 

334 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


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Tables  and  Rules 


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336 


The  Farm  Woodlot 


VOLUME   TABLES   FOR   PITCH   PINE 

(Graves'  Mensuration) 

Dominant  trees  60  to  80  years  old. 

(Based  on  75  trees  measured  in  Milford,  Pa.) 


FUEL-WOOD 

DIAMETER 
BREASTHIGH, 
INCHES 

45'-54'  TREES 

55'-64'  TREES 

TREE  OF  ALL 
HEIGHTS 

CUBIC  FEET 

9 

9.6 

15.7 

9.6 

10 

11.9 

15.7 

12.3 

11 

14.6 

17.8 

15.5 

12 

18.0 

20.5 

19.2 

13 

22.1 

23.9 

23.4 

14 

27.0 

28.1 

28.3 

15 

33.4 

34.0 

16 

39.8 

40.1 

17 

47.8 

47.3 

LUMBER   AND  FUEL-WOOD 


DIAMETER 
BREAST- 
HIGH, 
INCHES 

ONE-LOG  TREES 

Two  LOG  TREES 

THREE-LOG  TREES 

Board 
Feet 

Cords 

Board 
Feet 

Cords 

Board 
Feet 

Cords 

9 

19 

0.045 

28 

0.023 

10 

22 

.059 

33 

.028 

43 

0.017 

11 

27 

.075 

41 

.033 

52 

.021 

12 

33 

.095 

51 

.039 

63 

.026 

13 

41 

.120 

64 

.047 

76 

.031 

14 

52 

79 

.057 

93 

.038 

15 

97 

.069 

114 

.046 

16 

117 

141 

.056 

17 

177 

.070 

Tables  and  Rules 


337 


VOLUME  TABLE  FOR  CHESTNUT 

(Graves'  Mensuration) 

Dominant  trees  about  50  years  old. 

(Based  on  99  trees  measured  in  Milford  Pa.) 


DIAMETER 
BREASTHIGH, 
INCHES 

HEIGHT  IN  FEET 

40 

45 

50 

55 

60 

MERCHANTABLE  CUBIC  FEET 

6 

3.4 

3.8 

4.1 

7 

4.7 

5.2 

5.6 

6.0 

8 

6.1 

6.7 

7.3 

7.9 

9 

7.8 

8.5 

9.3 

10.0 

10 

9.6 

10.5 

11.4 

12.3 

11 

11.6 

12.7 

13.9 

14.9 

15.9 

12 

15.2 

16.5 

17.7 

19.0 

13 

17.8 

19.4 

20.9 

22.3 

14 

20.6 

22.3 

24.2 

25.9 

15 

25.8 

27.7 

29.7 

TABLE    SHOWING    RANGE    OF    DURABILITY    OF    FENCE 
POSTS    IN    MINNESOTA.       (AIR-DRY) 


(From  "Forestry  in  Minnesota,"  by  Green) 


Red  Cedar        

White  Cedar  (quartered  6-inch  face)    .... 

White  Oak  (6-inch  round) 

Red  and  Black  Oak 

Tamarack  (Redwood) 

Elm 

Ash,  Beech,  Maple 

Black  Walnut       

White  Willow  (6"  in  diameter,  peeled  and  dried) 
z 


30  years 
10-15  years 

8  years 
4  years 

9  years 
6-  7  years 

4  years 

7-10  years 

6-7  years 


INDEX 


Abies,  42,  49. 

Acer,  53,  54. 

Agrilus  anxius,  78. 

America,  beginnings  of  forestry  in, 

285. 

Forests  of,    in   seventeenth   cen- 
tury, 282. 

Annual  rings,  32. 

Arbor  day,  287. 

Arboriculture,  259. 

Artificial  regeneration,  98. 

Ashes,  key  to,  53,  60,  133. 

Aspen,  53,  76. 

Axe,  shape  of,  327. 

Balsam,  263. 
Bark,  33. 
Beech,  53,  72. 

key  to,  73. 
Betula,  53,  82. 
Birches,  53,  82. 

key  to,  83. 
Board  foot,  183. 
Board  measure,  13. 
Bole,  31. 
Box  elder,  53,  57. 

key  to,  58. 

Broadcast  sowing,  105. 
Broadleaves,  41. 

key  to,  53. 

Bronze  birch  borer,  178. 
Brown-tail  moth,  171. 
Brush,  effect  on  tree  growth,  100. 
Buds,  function  of,  34. 
Bureau  of  forestry,  289. 
Butternut,  53,  85. 

key  to,  86. 


Cambium,  34. 

Canada,  development  of  forests  in, 
292. 

protection  system  in,  298. 
Canadian  Association,  300. 

forests,  293. 

forest  administration,  296. 

forest  experiment  station,  300. 

forest  reserves,  299. 
Carbolineum,  257. 
Carbon  in  wood,  138. 
Care  of  trees  after  planting,  129. 
Carolina  poplar,  80. 
Castanea,  53,  71. 
Cattle,  grazing  of,  162. 
Cedar,  263. 

white,  42,  51. 

red,  42,  52. 
Chestnut,  53,  71. 

key  to,  72. 

spacing  of,  132. 

growth  table,  329. 

volume  table,  337. 
Clearing  the  farm,  24. 
Collecting  seed,  107. 
College  of  Forestry  at  Toronto  and 

Guelph,  300. 
Conifers,  41. 

key  to,  42. 

Coniferous  seedlings,  112. 
Coppice  system,  96. 
Cord,  192. 
Cordwood,  weight  of,  324. 

on  an  acre,  326. 
Cottonwood,  53,  76. 
Creosote,  penetration  of,  255. 
Crown,  significance  of  shape,  39. 


339 


340 


Index 


Cruising,  197. 

methods,  200,  204. 
Cubic  contents  of  log,  191. 
Cull,  204. 

table  for  center  defects,  188. 

table  for  slab  waste,  189. 
Cyllene  robiniae,  181. 

D.  B.  H.,  199. 

Deciduous  trees,  definition,  29. 
Defects,  allowance  for,  in  logs,  187. 
Deforestation,  results  of,  301. 
Dendrology,  definition  of,  40. 
Dendroctinus  ponderosa,  174. 

piceaperda,  175. 
Density  of  stand,  140. 
Division  of  forestry,  288. 
Durability  of  fence  posts,  337. 

Economics  of  forests,  2. 
Elmleaf  beetle,  177. 
Elms,  53,  73. 

key  to,  75. 
Erosion,  308. 

Esthetic  value  of  woodlot,  13. 
Euproctis  abrysorrhora,  171. 
Europe,  increased  yield  in,  140. 

status  of  forestry  in,  282. 
Evaporation  as  affected  by  forests, 
312. 

and  wind  velocity,  313. 
Evergreens,  30. 

Fagus,  53,  72. 
Fall  web-worm,  180. 
Famine,  first  timber,  279. 
Fence  posts,  durability  of,  327. 

grades  of,  184. 

Fertility  increased  by  forests,  319. 
Feudal  ownership,  279. 
Fire,  193. 

damage  to  young  growth,  155. 

danger  season,  156. 

causes  of,  156. 
Fire  breaks,  158,  159. 
Firefighting  tools,  159. 


Firs,  42,  49. 
Flpods,  cause  of,  304. 
Flpwer,  function  of,  35. 
Forester's  work,  explanation  of,  291. 
Forests  in  development  of  country, 
2. 

of  America  in   seventeenth   cen- 
tury, 282. 

influence  of,  301. 
Forest  reserves,  288,  289. 
Forest  tent-caterpillar,  179. 
Fprestry,  definition  of,  1. 

development  in  Germany,  5. 

returns  from,  5. 

beginnings  of,  in  America,  285. 
Fraxinus,  53,  60. 
Frontier  forests,  277. 
Fruit,  function  of,  35. 
Fuel  value  of  woods,  322. 

well  seasoned,  325. 

Galerucella  luteola,  177. 
Germany,  development  of  forestry 

in,  4. 

Gipsy  moth,  170. 
Gleditsia,  53,  89. 
Goats,  grazing  of,  163. 
Grass  sod,  effect   on   tree   growth, 

100. 

Grazing,  160. 
Group  system,  96. 
Growth  of  sprouts ;    of  pitch   pine, 

328. 

of  chestnut,  329,  330. 
of  red  cedar,  330. 
Guelph,  College  of  Forestry  at,  300 

Hackberry  in  mixture,  130,  131. 
Hardness  of  woods,  321. 
Heartwood,  33. 
Heeling  in,  124. 
Height  measure,  194. 
Hemlock,  42,  50. 
Hickories,  53,  87. 

key  to,  88. 
Hicoria,  see  hickory. 


Index 


341 


Hill  lands  of  New  York,  8,  18. 
History  of  forest,  277. 
Hornbeam,  53,  84. 
Horses,  grazing  of,  165. 
Hough,  Emerson,  288. 
Hypantria  textor,  180. 

Increment,  32. 

Inexhaustible  timber  supply,  283. 
Influence  of  forest,  301. 
Insects,  168. 
Ironwood,  53,  84. 
key  to,  84. 

Jack-pine  lands  in  Lake  States,  9. 
Joly  de  Lotbiniere,  Sir  Henri,  298. 
Juglans,  53,  85. 
Juniperus,  42,  51. 

Lake  States,  jack-pine  lands  in,  9. 
Land  measures,  table  of,  324. 
Land,    development   of   ownership, 
278. 

classification  of,  5. 

basis  of  value,  6. 
Larch,  42,  46. 

key  to,  47. 

spacing  of,  132. 
Larix,  42-46. 
Lawn  trees,  choice  of,  259. 

requirements  of,  260. 
Leaf  litter,   effect  on  tree  growth, 

101. 

Leaves,  function  of,  29. 
Life  history  of  tree,  36. 
Locust  borer,  181. 
Locusts,  53,  89. 

key  to,  90. 
Log  rule,  186. 

scale,  185. 
Lumber  rule,  184. 

Malacosoma  disstria,  179. 
Maples,  53,  54,  58. 

spacing  of  sugar,  132. 
Medullary  rays,  32. 


Mensuration,  183. 
Mismanagement,  165. 
Moisture,  effect  on  range,  99. 
Municipal  forests,  282. 

National  forests,  290. 

Natural  regeneration,  91. 

Norway  poplar,  79. 

Nursery  practice,  coniferous,  112. 

broadleaf,  119. 

cost  of,  122. 

Oaks,  53,  64. 

key  to  blacks,  70. 

key  to  whites,  69. 

red,  spacing  of,  133. 
Ornamental  groups,  261. 

planting,  259. 
Ornamental     trees     tabulated     by 

species,  270,  276. 
Ostrya,  53,  84. 

Papineau  rebellion,  296. 
Penetration  of  creosote,  255. 
Picea,  42,  47. 
Piling,  185. 

Pine-destroying  beetle,  174. 
Pines,  42,  43. 

key  to,  45. 
Pinus,  see  pines. 
Pitch  pine,  growth  table,  328. 

volume  table,  336. 
Pith  rays,  32. 

Plantations,    suitable   mixtures   in, 
130. 

returns  from,  18. 
Planting,  choice  of  methods  of,  103. 

seed  for,  111. 

care  after  planting,  126,  129. 

begun  in  Europe,  286. 
Poles,  185. 
Poplars,  53,  76. 

key  to,  79. 
Populus,  see  poplars. 
Precipitation,  influence  of  forest  on, 
302. 


342 


Index 


Preparation  of  land  for  seeding,  102. 
Products  of  woodlot,  12. 
Protection,  153. 

systems  of,  in  Canada,  298. 
Pruning,  266,  269. 

Quercus,  53,  64. 

Range  of  species,  98. 
Red  cedar,  growth  table,  330. 
Red  oak,  volume  table,  333. 
Regeneration,  natural,  91. 

artificial,  98. 

Restrictions  in  use  of  wood,  280. 
Revenues  from  forests  in  Europe, 

14,281. 

-  from  woodlots,  281. 
Roadside  trees,  261. 
Robinia,  53,  89. 
Roots,  function  of,  30. 
Run-off,  302. 

Salix,  53,  80. 

Sap  wood,  33. 

Sealer,  184. 

Scale  stick,  186. 

Schools,  development  of  forest,  in 

Europe,  281. 

Scotch  pine  yield  table,  331. 
Screen  of  trees,  262. 
Seasoned  lumber  325. 
Seed  collecting,  107. 

storing,  110. 

planting,  111. 

broadleaf,  120. 
Seed,  selection  of,  99. 
Seedbeds,  see  nursery. 
Seeding,  98. 

preparation  for,  102. 

broadleaf,  105. 
Seedlings,  identification,  36. 

protection  in  nursery,  117. 

transplanting,  118. 

broadleaf,  121. 

cost  of,  122. 
Seed  spots,  106. 


Selection  system,  92. 
Sheep,  grazing  of,  164. 
Single  tank  treatment,  256. 
Soil  requirements  for  forest,  22. 

effect  on  range,  99. 
Soil  cover,  99. 
Sowing,  see  seeding. 
Spacing,  132. 
Spraying  mixture,  171, 
Sprouts,  96. 

growth  of,  328,  330. 
Spruce,  42,  47. 

key  to,  49. 

as  a  screen,  263. 

spacing  of,  132. 

yield  table,  332. 

volume  table,  334. 
Spruce-destroying  beetle,  175. 
Stand  table,  197. 
Standard,  log  measure,  191. 
Stem,  function  of,  31. 

analysis,  191. 
Strip  system,  94. 
Storing  seed,  110. 
Sunscald,  168. 
Sylvics,  41. 
Sylvicultiire,  40,  134. 

Tamarack,  42,  46. 

key  to,  47. 
Thinning,  137,  140,  141,  142. 

time  of,  143. 

improvement,  146. 

reproduction,  148. 
Thuja,  42,  51. 
Timber  supply,  3. 

first  famine,  279. 

culture  act,  287. 

estimating,  202. 
Toronto,    College    of    Forestry   at, 

300. 
Transplanting  conifers,  118. 

broadl  eaves,  121. 

large  trees,  263. 
Treating  posts,  255. 

cost,  256. 


Index 


343 


Tree,  growth  of,  29. 

life  history  of,  36. 
Trespass,  166. 
Trunk,  31. 

growth  of,  32. 
Tsuga,  42,  50. 

Ulmus,  53,  73. 

Unprofitable  farm  lands,  use  of,  11. 
United  States  Forest  Service,   287, 
289. 

Valuation  survey,  196. 
Volume  table,  199. 

red  oak,  333. 

spruce,  334. 

white  pine,  335. 

pitch  pine,  336. 

chestnut,  337. 

Walnuts,  53,  85. 

key  to,  86. 
Weight  of  dry  wood,  322. 

seasoned  lumber,  325. 

cordwood,  324. 


White  pine,  yield  table,  332. 

volume  table,  335. 
Willow,  53,  80. 

as  a  screen,  263. 

Windbreak,   value  of   woodlot    as, 
13. 

location  of,  22. 

benefit  from,  22. 
Windfall,  167. 
Winds,  hot,  318. 

how  formed,  318. 
Woodlot,  products  of,  12. 

increases  value  of  farm,  14. 

revenues  from,  14. 

place  in  farm  management,  15. 

location  of,  19. 

percentage  farm  in,  21. 

weeding  of,  134. 

Yield,  increased,  of  forests  in  Eu- 
rope, 140. 

of  woodlot,  14. 
Yield  tables,  Scotch  pine,  331. 

white  pine,  332. 

spruce,  332. 


nr'HE  following  pages  contain  advertisements  of  a 
few  of  the  Macmillan  books  on  kindred  subjects 


TREES    IN   WINTER 

BY 

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Professor  of  Botany,  Connecticut  Agricultural  College 


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INJURIOUS    INSECTS 

HOW  TO  RECOGNIZE  AND  CONTROL  THEM 
BY  WALTER  C.  O'KANE 

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TEXT-BOOK  ON  FORAGE  CROPS 

BY  PROFESSOR  C.  V.  PIPER 

Of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 

Cloth,  i2mo 

A  clear  and  concise  account  of  the  present  knowledge  of  forage  cropping  in 
North  America,  intended  primarily  as  a  text-book  for  the  use  of  agricultural 
college  students.  The  author  presents  the  subject  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  the 
student  realize  the  shortcomings  of  the  present  knowledge  on  the  subject,  as 
well  as  the  progress  which  has  been  definitely  accomplished.  All  the  plants 
and  crops  which  are  used  for  forage  and  for  hay  are  described,  and  their  botan- 
ical characteristics  and  means  of  cultivation  are  carefully  discussed.  The 
grasses,  alfalfa,  the  clovers,  the  millets,  and  the  various  fodder  crops  are  all 
treated. 

SMALL  GRAINS 

BY  M.  A.  CARLETON 

Cerealist  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 

Cloth,  I2H10 

The  cereal  grains  and  buckwheat  are  described  carefully.  Their  methods 
of  cultivation  and  of  handling  and  marketing  are  thoroughly  discussed.  Among 
the  grains  thus  treated  are  wheat,  oats,  rye,  barley,  and  the  minor  crops.  This 
book  will  prove  an  admirable  complement  to  Montgomery's  "  The  Corn 
Crops."  Both  these  books  are  intended  primarily  for  use  as  texts  in  college 
courses,  and  may  very  well  be  used  in  conjunction  in  the  general  course  on 
grain  crops.  These  books  also  are  of  distinct  interest  and  value  to  the  farmer. 


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NEW  VOLUMES  IN  THE  RURAL  TEXT-BOOK  SERIES 


IRRIGATION 

BY  JOHN  A.  WIDTSOE 

President  of  the  Utah  Agricultural  College 

Illustrated,  Cloth,  i2mo 

Although  much  of  the  writing  on  irrigation  has  been  from  the  engineering 
point  of  view,  this  book  is  written  distinctly  from  the  point  of  view  of  practical 
farming.  President  Widtsoe  has  drawn  not  only  upon  his  own  intimate 
knowledge  of  conditions  in  an  irrigated  country,  but  also  upon  all  the  available 
literature  on  the  application  of  water  to  land  for  irrigating  purposes.  The  effect 
of  water  on  the  soil,  the  losses  by  seepage  and  evaporation,  the  service  that 
water  renders  to  the  plants,  and  the  practical  means  of  employing  water  for  the 
growing  of  the  different  crops  are  all  discussed  clearly  and  thoroughly. 

WEEDS 

BY  ADA  E.  GEORGIA 

Of  the  New  York  State  College  of  Agriculture  at  Cornell  University 

Illustrated,  -Cloth,  i2mo 

A  summary  of  our  present  knowledge  regarding  weeds  as  they  affect  hprti- 
cultural  and  agricultural  practices.  The  relations  of  weeds  to  agriculture  are 
described,  and  the  causes  making  certain  plants  weeds  are  explained.  Every 
separate  species  of  weed  known  to  occur  in  the  United  States  or  Canada  is  de- 
scribed, and  its  range  and  habitat  stated.  The  crops  which  each  species  partic- 
ularly infests  and  the  means  of  controlling  each  species  are  also  discussed. 
Between  300  and  400  original  illustrations,  made  directly  from  the  plants, 
greatly  enhance  the  practical  value  of  this  book. 


FIELD  CROPS 


By  GEORGE  LIVINGSTON 

Assistant  Professor  of  Agronomy,  Ohio  State  University 

Illustrated,  Cloth,  12010 

This  text  is  intended  to  meet  the  needs  of  agricultural  high  schools  and  of 
brief  courses  in  Field  Crops  in  the  colleges.  Based  on  actual  experiment,  it 
points  out  the  "  better  way  "  of  raising  field  crops  ;  of  selecting  the  field ;  of  pre- 
paring the  soil ;  of  sowing  the  seed ;  of  cultivating  the  plant ;  of  harvesting  the 
crop.  It  is  to  be  fully  illustrated  with  reproductions  from  photographs  of  un- 
usual excellence. 

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FARM    STRUCTURES 


BY  K.  J.  T.  EKBLAW,  M.S. 

Associate  in  Agricultural  Engineering,  University  of  Illinois ;  Associate 
Member  of  American  Society  of  Agricultural  Engineers 


Illus.,  Cloth,  Crown  8vo,  347  pp.,  $1.75  net;  postpaid,  $1.88 

In  the.  preparation  of  this  book  it  has  been  purposed  to  provide  a 
treatise  concerning  farm  structures  which  will  appeal  not  only  to  the 
teacher  who  desires  to  present  the  subject  to  his  students  in  a  straightfor- 
ward and  practical  way,  but  to  the  progressive  farmer  who  recognizes  the 
advantages  of  good  farm  buildings.  The  popular  literature  on  this  subject 
consists  mainly  of  compilations  of  plans  accompanied  by  criticisms  of  more 
or  less  value,  or  of  discussions  of  farmsteads  too  expensive  or  impractical 
to  be  applied  to  present  ordinary  conditions.  The  elimination  of  these 
faults  has  been  among  the  objects  of  the  author  in  the  writing  of  this  text. 

The  development  of  the  subject  is  manifestly  the  most  logical,  begin- 
ning with  a  description  of  building  materials,  followed  by  a  discussion  of 
the  basic  methods  employed  in  simple  building  construction,  then  present- 
ing typical  plans  of  various  farm  buildings  in  which  the  principles  of  con- 
struction and  arrangement  have  been  applied.  Descriptions  of  the  more 
essential  requirements  in  the  way  of  equipment  and  farm-life  conveniences 
are  appended.  The  illustrations  have  been  prepared  with  the  object  of 
making  them  truly  illustrative  and  of  aid  in  the  understanding  of  the  sub- 
ject matter  which  they  accompany.  Comparatively  few  building  plans  are 
included,  since  most  buil  ing  problems  possess  so  many  local  requirements 
that  a  general  solution  is  impossible;  however,  the  plans  presented  are 
typical,  and  are  so  suggestive  in  presenting  fundamental  principles  that  a 
study  of  them  will  aid  in  the  solution  of  any  particular  individual  problem. 

It  is  not  intended  that  the  study  of  this  text  will  produce  an  architect; 
but  it  is  hoped  that  it  will  provide  the  student  with  a  sufficient  knowledge 
of  building  operations  to  enable  him,  with  some  knowledge  of  carpentry, 
.to  erect  his  own  minor  structures  and  to  differentiate  between  good  and 
bad  construction  in  larger  ones. 


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UNIVEESITY  OF  CALIFOENIA  LIBEAEY 
BEEKELEY 

THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

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to  $1.00  per  volume  after  the  sixth  day.  Books  not  in 
demand  may  be  renewed  if  application  is  made  before 
expiration  of  loan  period. 


iAN 


FEE 


7  1939 


50m-7,'lf 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


